Green Hair, Yellow Eyes
by Takeda Kenji
Summary: What will happen when Tenchi chooses the one no one ever saw coming...
1. Chapter 1

**Green Hair, Yellow Eyes**

**By Takeda Kenji**

"Fatherhood. What a concept…" Tenchi Masaki remarked as he paced around the hospital waiting room. Apparently the Juraians had not advanced in societal practices as they concerned the role of the father during the delivery of his child. The mother was wheeled into the delivery room but was he allowed to join his wife and hold her hand and speak word of encouragement to her? No, he was told very simply to wait outside and 'smoke 'em if ya got 'em'. Curious instructions coming from a health care professional but then when immortality did have some rather nice executive perks.

Tenchi had to figure that lung cancer wasn't as worrisome a problem as it was on his native planet. It was a moot point, as Tenchi did not have anything to smoke so he simply refrained but the temptation was there. He was alone now; there wasn't a soul in the lonely hallways. Scuffing his shoe at a little collection of dirt, he took stock of his life. Here he was about to become a daddy and he was left to wait outside like an asshole. One had to figure that God had a sense of humor, locked and loaded.

"Goddamn it," he hissed as he kicked a door in an idle lash of rage. "Ow…" he practically whimpered as the door held up quite well against his foot.

"You should probably leave the door alone," a dulcet voice admonished him as shimmers of iridescent rays surrounded a shapely female figure.

"Ayeka-san…" Tenchi breathed. It had been far too long since he saw her last.

"In the flesh," Ayeka confirmed, with a gentle smile. "Tenchi-sama, why are you venting your frustrations on the door? Surely that poor inanimate object can't be the culprit of your conundrum."

"Very funny," Tenchi retorted, shooting her a glare that yet contained little heat. How could he be mad at her?

"So dearest Tenchi, it has been what...days?" she queried.

"Months," he speculated.

"Why, positively years," she said with a tinge to her voice that was positively savage.

"It wasn't the way any of us would have wanted it," Tenchi said, honestly.

"I was busy ruling an empire and you…" she trailed off purposefully, fixing a look that Tenchi couldn't decipher.

"I was busy getting my life sorted out," Tenchi rejoined respectfully.

"Oh is that what you call – "

"Ayeka, could we please? I mean, there was enough of it at the wedding."

"Indeed, why I was surprised I was even invited."

"Ayeka!" Tenchi exclaimed helplessly. "Come now, we've been through all this. Over and over in fact," he protested.

"Yes, we have, Tenchi-sama," Ayeka agreed, her patrician voice ringing with a clarion precision.

"My child is coming into this world, can I help you?" Tenchi said, with a firmness that he did not several years ago know.

"My," Ayeka said, starting a bit. "Where did you find that backbone, did she give it to you for an anniversary present?"

"What the hell are you doing, Ayeka? Picking a fight with a father-to-be? Come on, Ayeka…" Tenchi begged plaintively, "just stop." He touched her shoulder.

It was around this time, with a simple touch, that weight of the world hit Ayeka Masaki. It was a subtle thing, sneaking up so stealthily, but the forceful punch it packed was a fearsome force indeed. It was losing him that hurt and she couldn't take much more. Why did his touch have to make her feel so good and yet hurt so badly? And for a little time, just for a minute or two, Ayeka's heart broke. And she couldn't take any more and it was closing to an end. She was the proud empress right now.

"Oh Tenchi-sama!" she wailed as she clutched him to her breast. She began to bawl like a child, with a force unlike Tenchi had ever seen. Taken aback, he could only hold on to the Empress. "Tenchi, we love you so much…you must under—"

"Oh but I do understand, Ayeka. Only too well," he whispered as he held her. "I want you to be at peace…be at peace, darling Ayeka. You, Mihoshi, Sasami, and Ryoko…all of you…be at peace," Tenchi whispered once more.

"But Tenchi…we will never be at peace without you…" she replied.

"Masaki-san…" a voice said that startled Tenchi out of his reverie. There was the doctor standing there, but as Tenchi's wide eyes searched his surroundings, there was nothing to be found. No sign of Ayeka was to be seen no matter how he searched. Was it real…or imagined?

"Masaki-san," the voice repeated, just a bit firmer this time. Tenchi turned to face the voice – a young Wau doctor whose eyes sported dark circles that Tenchi could only guess was profound exhaustion. Who knew Wau and Humans showed exhaustion in such similar ways? Of course Tenchi could be wrong, and it could be a sign of vigor and Tenchi would feel the fool. "Masaki-san, would you like to meet your children?"

His children…

"I…I…"Tenchi said, a grin breaking out on his still boyish face. "Yeah, Doctor…"

"Makoto…Hajime Makoto."

"The Beginning of Fidelity," Tenchi whispered, almost reverently.

"Yeah. The kanji actually works out to that," the Wau physician replied embarrassedly, nonplussed at such attention to something so rote as his name. "So your children…"

"Believe me, I haven't forgotten," Tenchi said, with a smile and nod of his head. They walked into the surgical suite where twin basinets. Tenchi stopped dead in his tracks and gaped at the sight of his son and daughter.

"Is everything alright?" Makoto asked.

"I wasn't expecting twins…" Tenchi replied softly, his eyes alit with wonder.

"I said children. How could you not know that you and—"

"Mother's wishes," Tenchi said, with a chuckle. "So this is what she had in mind…"

Hajime Makoto opened his mouth and then promptly shut it for his own well-being. What did it matter to him what two of the most powerful people in the universe did with their kiddos? At this point, all he wanted to do was to find a bed to climb into and call his own for the next eight hours of his life. "Well then, I had best be off. It's been a very long night and I honestly need to rest," he said, bowing.

"Not a problem," Tenchi said, bowing low to the doctor.

"The nurses are on duty at all hours, simply pull the call button right over there," the doctor said before making his exit.

So there was Tenchi, all alone with his two children. So out of the loop had she kept him, that he was under the impression that he was only the father of one child…until now. Now things were different and he knew better. Promising to himself quietly, he vowed never to be unaware again. Her wishes were one thing but this level of uncertainty was bordering on the line of dangerous, was it not? Tenchi wasn't sure. All these thoughts and more swept his head as he couldn't help but wipe his eyes at the tears that streamed gently. He sat down at stool next to the basinet so that he was hunched over them.

"You'll have to excuse me, I'm new at this. I'm your daddy," Tenchi explained, as he reached for his son's tiny fist. Instantly, a minute bond was formed as father and son connected for the first time. "Son, the Masaki name is something bigger than you or I. I'm almost sorry that you got dragged into this but let me say: I'll do whatever I can to make sure you're better prepared for the world of Jurai. Son, my father is a good man and has been a good father and will be the best grandfather – I just wish your grandmother were here –" Tenchi said as he cleared his throat and withdrew a hanky to blow his nose. "My son, I give you my father's name, Nobuyuki Katsuhito Masaki Jurai," he said, before pausing to wince. "That's a mouthful isn't it? But I think it's better that way. You have a family that loves you and will have your back at every twist and turn life throws at you," Tenchi paused and kissed his son's forehead, smiling at as a mark formed and began to glow red. Yes, his son would be a powerful one indeed.

"And honey," he said, turning to his daughter. "I don't want you thinking that I forgot about you," he said, as he grabbed a towel to wipe tenderly at his daughter's mouth, which was leaking a bit of spittle. "You're leaking a bit there, sweetie," he said as he dabbed away the minute mess. "Honey, you've got a name too…" he said with a smile. "I love my mother and her memory but actually we've decided to name you after a very brave woman who lived many moons before any of us came along. My daughter, I give you the name of your grandmother, Kasumi Kiyone Masaki Jurai," again he kissed the forehead of his daughter like he had his son and smiled as her forehead glowed green.

"Darling…" came the voice for his ears alone. Tenchi gently squeezed the tiny hands of his children before he answered her call.

There, in a hospital bed, hair matted to her face by sweat, was Airi Masaki Jurai. She was tired, had tussled with the boars of hell, and had brought two new souls into the world in what had not been an easy pregnancy. With all these things and more, Tenchi had to admit that the love of his life…his wife and the mother of his newfound children – she never looked better.

"Why?" he found himself asking after all this time waiting.

"Whatever do you mean, darling?" Airi asked simply enough.

"Why was everything done in such secrecy? I didn't even know we were having twins…or the gender…I couldn't be in with you while—" Tenchi began, his face reddening a bit with an overflow of emotion that had nowhere else to go. He wasn't mad – he couldn't be mad at the mother of his children, not now but there had to be an explanation for all that had transpired.

"Husband…baby…Tenchi," Airi panted out with some effort, looking a little flushed herself. "Baby, just hush," she said with a pleading smile. Tenchi folded like a bad hand of cards at poker.

"I'm not trying to browbeat you…" he whispered apologetically as he found a chair to sit in.

"If you would shush your mouth long enough, Tenchi dear, you wouldn't need to apologize and come into bed with me," she said, gesturing to the queen size bed that had been her den of agony for three hours. A relatively short time for a human woman to be in labor, three hours was a nightmarishly long time for Juraian woman. "Tenchi…you know I've had a rough time of being a mother. It's been so hard what with the delayed pregnancy with Minaho and your mother…" she trailed off and cupped his face as he climbed into bed with her, cuddling her close. A nurse came in and smiled, checking Airi's vitals before leaving almost as quickly as she came.

"Service with a smile," Tenchi said with a grin.

"Eyes front, mister," Airi instructed before kissing him hungrily. "I missed you. I wanted you here—"

"Then why wasn't I?" Tenchi asked insistently.

"Tenchi…"

"Why wasn't I?" he repeated a bit louder but still maintaining a civility that never ceased to amaze her.

"Because of what could have happened…if anything had happened to," she began, fighting tears. "If anything had happened, I would have needed to grieve alone…"

"We're husband and wife, we should deal with matters as a unit…" Tenchi argued reasonably enough.

"Husband," Airi said as the floodgates opened. "I've always had to mourn alone…"

"Never again, that was the old way…" Tenchi whispered before he left her side to bring her Nobuyuki and Kasumi. "Say hello to the new way…" he said, displaying candor with a smile as the new family all gathered together on the spacious hospital bed.

With all the tears that had been shed, it happened to be that no one noticed the salty residue of a certain Jurain Empress left on Tenchi's collar. There was no time for such minor details…

###

Author's Note: Konnichiwa beeshes! It's been a while but I'm back. It took me six months to get a new story out but here's the first chapter. I hope you like it. As always, please be kind and review; like or dislike.

Ja ne!


	2. Chapter 2

**Green Hair, Yellow Eyes**

**By Takeda Kenji**

**Chapter Two**

It all started like this.

Airi tossed and turned on her futon, gritting her teeth at the snoring Yosho, who was oblivious to her. Same song, second verse. Peaceful, dreamy, floating oblivion, that was Yosho wrapped up in a nutshell. She fidgeted with her wedding ring; she wasn't used to wearing it. Oh, she said she didn't wear it for work-related reasons but Mikami knew different. What had this marriage become? Last time she visited Earth she was so happy and content and things had been so carefree. Was it so wrong to want that again, really was it?

Apparently it was. Since coming here, she had tried to deal with her issues. Well that was actually a lie, first she had tried to forget them and bury them under the guise of a vacationing good ole time. But when that didn't work she had gone to Yosho and pleaded that they work out their issues together. His response? 'I don't have any issues, Airi'. Such a proclamation was nearly grounds for divorce in her mind. She punched her pillow hard as she thought about it again. Just the thought of it made her head spin, just like that.

"Yosho…" she whispered sadly, as she stroked his face. He looked so beautiful to her, so tender. Yosho, also know as Katsuhito, never hid in his guise as an old man around Airi. He had tried it once but she said she wasn't ready to sleep with an old man. A wicked thought crossed her mind as she began to lick her fingers in order to prepare the proof of her desire. Once accomplished, she woke Yosho up. She wanted relief. She needed the touch and feel of her husband. Perhaps a little screw would lighten things up. It couldn't hurt, right?

"What?" Yosho asked sleepily, roused from a deep sleep. When he saw that look in his wife's eyes. "I don't know whether you want to screw me or hit me." Wrong sentiment, he soon found out as her hand cracked against his face. "Ouch, I guess I deserved that."

"And so much more, you fool," she whispered at him before brushing her lips against his.

"How did I fail you this time?" He wondered aloud.

A tear rolled down her face but she did not answer however, choosing rather to kiss him fiercely and climb atop of him. He groaned as they united in a lover's embrace. Rocking her hips, she began to ride him like she used to back when they first met at the academy. This was not some wonderful union of souls at the brink and epiphany of the whatever. This was angry sex…grudge fucking…boiling the clams on a hot weather day, whatever one wanted to call it.

At least it was for Airi; for whatever one wanted to call what they were doing, Yosho was not with it. With a snort of disgust, she quickly climbed off of him and stalked off, wiping tears that were filling her eyes and escaping like drops of rain.

"Where are you going?" Yosho asked, drowsily.

"I'm going to take a bath," Airi snapped at him, not looking at him.

"At this hour?"

"Yes at this hour…" she explained, exasperated.

"How did I fail you this time?" he repeated.

She held back an angry sob, "you know what, Yosho? I'm not your mommy," Airi bit out as she grabbed a robe to wear for decency's sake. "Figure it out, genius."

"I'm tired of having this conversation every time you break a nail," Yosho grumbled. "You're pissed off about something, so just get it all out," Yosho said. It was a stark difference in him.

"I'm tired of pretending to be the good wife," she began.

"Who the hell says you're the good wife?" Yosho countered.

"I've been nothing but faithful and loving…" she riposted, horrified.

"Faithful and loving until my grandson walks into the room," Yosho said, with a bitterness that was heartbreaking in its lethality.

"You…how can…how can you speak?" she queried, the anger taking a hold of her and keeping the fit of sobbing at bay.

"I'm royalty," Yosho summarized viciously. "What? You knew perks came with that title. I took an Earthling wife."

"You've always been searching for your mother," she whispered breathlessly. That's why you married on Earth…that girl...the one Ryoko took hostage."

"Kasumi Masaki…" Yosho articulated, speaking the name clearly and with emphasis.

The effect was not lost on Airi whose hand went to her stomach as if she was experiencing labor pains. "Why did she have to have my mother's name?"

"Why is that important at three o' clock in the morning?" Yosho wondered aloud. "I'm going to go back to bed. Wake me when you actually have some real concerns. For Kami's sake, quit digging for things to hurt me with," he said pointedly, as he rolled over so he didn't have to look at her. "Some skeletons are better left in the closet," he warned ominously.

Airi thought her head was going to burst. She didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or look for something sharp with which to stab her husband repeatedly. She shuddered and whimpered, as she was honestly lost for a place to go with all this feeling. "This isn't a marriage," she whispered.

"What?" Katsuhito said, as he rolled over. He had reverted to his old man disguise purely out of spite.

"This isn't a marriage. It's not even a show for laughs."

"This hasn't been a marriage for years," Katsuhito countered. "Can I help you?"

"I've wasted my life remaining your one true girl and what has it brought me?"

"The prestige of the Royalty, two beautiful children, and a grandson who is Kami above all…not bad for a marriage," Yosho explained.

"Who I wouldn't trade for the world—"

"Then what the hell are you talking to me about, woman?!" Katsuhito yelled aloud and for a moment, Airi was glad that they were some distance from the house.

"I'm talking about of years – decades of not living with a husband. I'm talking about your complete lack of interest in me or how I feel. I'm talking about Kiyone, you bastard!" she cried at him before sinking to her knees.

Katsuhito began to nod as he got up, shedding blankets. "So at last it finally comes out…you've been waiting years to pull that one out of your—"

"Dear Kami, yes I have. Yes I have," she hissed at him, near hysterics.

"We discussed this before the funeral…"

"I will never forgive you…"

"There's nothing to forgive, it was an accident," Katsuhito stated firmly. "Funaho rejected her and that's all there is to it," he said, referring to the tree, which was once a magnificent ship of Yosho's.

"YOU LED HER DOWN THAT PATH," Airi screamed at him, her face red and the tears now streaming. She rose to her feet and went to him and brought her hand across his face so hard she knocked the glasses off his face.

What met her was reciprocation, first his hand then the back of his hand. The tally of domestic violence was now even.

"I will not be slapped around like a houseboy," Katsuhito spat, his voice lower than a rumbling of thunder and the threat of pure evil creeping into his syllables. "You would do well to remember your place, woman. I am the Crown Prince of Jurai…" he said as he shed his veneer to become Yosho once more.

Airi held her face and sobbed quietly. "You killed her…"

"I did no such thing!" Yosho cried back. "Your blame of me all these years does not constitute proof. Tenchi was the one who killed her…" he revealed.

Airi's mouth hung open as she struggled to even begin to consider the implications of this. "Tenchi…" she repeated, whimpering as a cold dead weight settled in her stomach. "How?"

"Funaho's rejection left her weakened, it's true. But soon afterward, Tenchi's Light Hawk Wings manifested for the first time and stabbed Kiyone. It did her in," Yosho said as he struggled to stay calm. He too, was fighting back tears. "Tenchi was too young, he doesn't know. He must never know. Now get out…" he whispered cruelly.

"What?" Airi asked numbly.

"You heard me."

Brokenly, she obeyed. When she reached the door, she turned to him. "I want a divorce," she said, with damp eyes but a clear voice.

You want a divorce?" he asked coldly.

"Posthaste. Call your family and have them make the arrangements."

"You'd be breaking away from the royal family. Alimony and –"

"I don't need any of those things. I have my own funds and my job pays me well enough."

"Then I suggest you take what you have and go. Back to your ship and out of my life," Yosho said with finality.

"I am a guest of Tenchi's and I will stay here as long as I like," she said, just as firmly.

"If you love him so much go fuck him…" Yosho said as a parting shot.

"I could say the same about your mother…" Airi replied before leaving Yosho to his thoughts.

###

Tenchi Masaki luxuriated in the onsen water. Noike and he had worked hard in the carrot fields and played even harder in the tool shed. It was all he could do to rest his bones and feel the hot water soothe the aches and pains away. He had chosen three o' clock in the morning as a good time to get away from all the girls and simply relax. A cold glass of lemonade quenched his parched throat. Life simply couldn't get any better than this. Nothing could ruin his day.

Oh man did he speak too soon…

Airi showing up, dishevled and eyes red from crying, changed all that in a heartbeat. She was also armed with a bottle. Tenchi was no Rhodes scholar but he was willing to bet a field of carrots that she was packing something with a wicked punch.

"Airi-san, whatever is the matter?" Tenchi exclaimed, standing up before realizing a haunting truth and a sobering reality: he was nude as a jaybird and she wasn't wearing anything but a towel that barely covered her gorgeous physique. Suddenly…this shit just got real. "_Shimatta!_" he exclaimed as he sank back into the water and covered himself while averting his eyes.

"Oh Tenchi," Airi said with a sad laugh, "you don't have to be so bashful. May I join you?"

"But Airi-san," Tenchi protested, "I don't have a towel…"

"Why on Earth would you be out without a towel, _ne Tenchi-chan?_" Airi wondered with a giggle – the first of the night.

"Um, heh, well you see…that's a perfectly fair question," Tenchi stammered, "one that I don't have a particularly good answer right now…"

"Oh I see," Airi said, pretending to be understanding as she held in another giggle. Dipping her little toe into the water, she found the water to be piping hot…just the way she preferred it. She settled into the water, setting down her bottle by the side.

Tenchi squirmed uncomfortably, unbelieving at his own stupidity. Forgetting a towel had been his fatal mistake and now he was soaking with his grandmother whose body rivaled those of the girls at home. This was positively surreal.

"The water not to your liking, Tenchi?" Airi asked.

"Oh, me?!" Tenchi said as a chill went through his spine.

"No, I'm speaking to another Kami soaking with me in the bathtub," Airi said with a sardonic smirk. "Yes, you sweet fool, I'm talking to you. Why are you so uncomfortable?"

"I just wish I had remembered my towel," Tenchi said in a meek voice.

"Oh for the love of kittens," Airi exclaimed before shedding her towel. "There…now we both don't have towels…are you a little more comfortable?" she asked exasperatedly.

"Airi…" Tenchi breathed. He was so taken aback by her figure that he forgot to care that he didn't have a towel.

"Tenchi, you know what that does to me…" she said as she shivered a bit despite the water being a few degrees from a facsimile of boiling water. She swam back to the edge where she had left the beverage. "Tenchi, do you know what this is?" she queried interested in what he knew.

"I'm guessing it isn't tea…" he said confidently.

"Right you are, sweetheart," she said tenderly. "It's Caelthrassian wine…some of the best in the galaxy. It's not drunk for light occasion but my people drink this on a sad occasion."

"Oh," Tenchi said, feeling somewhat enlightened on the esoteric topic at hand. "What's wrong, Airi-san?" he asked sincerely.

"Your grandfather and I had a very bad fight, Tenchi," Airi said quietly. Uncorking the bottle, she then took a mighty swig of it.

"Are you and him going to be alri—"

"No," she said, cutting off his question early. "We're going to be divorced soon, Tenchi…" she said, taking another swig. "Care for some?" she asked sweetly, proffering the bottle.

"I…" Tenchi said, trailing off. He thought about it for a long time before shaking his head. "It's probably not a good idea, Airi-san."

"Drink with me…To days gone by…Sing with me…The songs we knew," Airi began to sing, her contralto beautifully negotiating the melody and raising it to the level of an artist.

Tenchi stared dumbfounded as Airi began to turn his world upside down.

"Here's to them…And here's to you!" she sang, before taking another swig. Her cheeks were already a rosy color that had nothing to do with the heat of the water.

"Drink with me…To days gone by…Can it be…You fear to die? Will the world remember you…When you fall? Could it be your death…Means nothing at all? Is your life just one more lie?" Tenchi tried to take the bottle from her gently, but after they got into a tussle where she wouldn't reliquish it, with a deft swerve, she stuck the opening into his mouth and held it. He gulped down an amount that burnt like molten fire. "Drink with me…To days…Gone by…To the life…That used…To be…Let the wine of friendship…Never run dry," she whispered, her eyes no longer dry. "Here's to you…And here's…To me..." she said as she began to cry.

"Um.." Tenchi tried to brush the fog threatening to move in from the edges of his consciousness and wrapped his arms around her with his protective, male instinct. She sobbed in his arms. He was lost for words and rocked her gently. He absently wondered if his reddening blush still purely out of modesty. "This wine is strong…" Tenchi remarked, changing the subject and coughing politely.

"_Haa," _Airi said, agreeing with him, her eyes locked with his. She took turns drinking from the bottle and then holding it to his mouth. Tenchi no longer resisted as much. Eventually, nary a drop remained. By then, both their faces were flushed from the onsen and the alcohol. "Yoush know, Tenchi, you've been quite…calm…with me," she said as she wrapped her arms around him. "What changed about joo," she slurred drunkenly.

Tenchi hiccupped. "I dun…don't know…hee hee," he said, giggling drunkenly. "Well I do know…I tell you, Airi, I think getting laid really helped," he said that before his hand went to his mouth. "Did…I…really say that out loud?" he whispered to her. "Oh man, I think I'm wasted," he said, like he was very sure of it.

Airi's lips were next to his once she had pulled him into her arms. "Oh Tenchi, when did you pop that cherry of yours?" she asked curiously, marveling at the beautiful structure of his face. He was so much like a young Yosho, but wonderfully different. She found herself lost in his chocolate brown eyes.

"Noike and I…about three months ago," Tenchi admitted uneasily.

"You've blossomed into a man."

"I think I was a man before then…"

"Indeed…" Airi said hungrily.

In the haze of alcohol, it was hard to say when their lips met and opened to allow a deeper kiss. Tenchi found himself addicted to the taste of Airi's mouth, so sweet did it taste. So he made his kiss more insistent, needing more of her. It was the perfect situation; from chaos did a new order form. This bolder side of Tenchi overwhelmed Airi but desire trumped any sort of shock and she reciprocated desperately.

"Oh Tenchi…" Airi whispered.

"Airi," he whispered against her lips, the proof of his desire readily apparent.

"Oh my," she whispered as she felt him press against her belly.

"Yeah…" he said, nodding as he kissed her hungrily.

"Tenchi, _onegai_…make love to me?" she whispered to him.

In seconds they were no longer in onsen any longer but in Tenchi's bedroom. Tenchi set her down on the bed. Shutting the door tight and locking, he activated a little gift from Washu: a forcefield that would keep uninvited guests out of his room. He reached for his CD player and opened the lid to place a new one in and closing the lid, he pressed the PLAY button.

Going back to her, he sank his fingers into her hair and nibbled on her collarbone. She purred at him like a spoiled kitten before laying back and spreading her legs. Biting her finger coquettishly, she locked eyes with Tenchi who began to kiss his way down her tummy.

###

Washu leaned back and closed her eyes. She didn't want to know this. No one wanted to know this. Now the question was: what to do with this information that she now held, well for as long as it was her information to hold. No doubt that word would get around somehow and rumors would spread. They always did, somehow. She brought up the controls to the device she had given him as a present. Going against her better nature, she stabbed the off switch and then got up hastily, heading to her bedroom.

If Tenchi wanted to fuck his grandmother…he was going to have to get used to the idea that the household knew.

###

Ayeka sighed and closed her eyes as she heard the grunts and moans emanating from Tenchi's bedroom. She had seen Tenchi fornicating with that Noike woman and that was bad enough but for him to be copulating with some stranger whom she didn't know…unless….no it couldn't be….not…

But a shrill cry of Tenchi's name silenced all doubts: it was Airi.

####

Sasami crouched closer to the door and slid it open just a crack and gaped in awe and horror at the visual of Tenchi and Airi in lover's unison – and being none too quiet about it. The seventeen year old was three months away from her eighteenth birthday and had seen this sight before but it had always been Tenchi and Noike rutting in Noike's room.

Her hand slid between her legs as she began to pleasure herself at the sight, unable to help herself.

###

Ryoko buried her face into her pillow, holding on for dear life as she sobbed into the pillow. Other than Sasami, she could probably hear the couple going at it the clearest and yet she didn't interfere. There would be plenty of time for that later.

Indeed, there'd be plenty of time for recriminations…

Author's Note: Whew, that was a mouthful. The drink with me song is from Les Miserables, obviously I didn't make it up. The bit about Tenchi killing his mother is from a Naoko Hasegawa novel, the Nokie screwing Tenchi bit is from a Kajishima doishin (however you spell that) so there is some basis for what I'm trying to do here. Much love to my homies who read and review and thank you to Jibri for editing and helpful suggestions.

Ja Ne!


	3. Chapter 3

**Green Hair, Yellow Eyes**

**By Takeda Kenji**

**Chapter Three**

All good things come to an end.

Tenchi awoke with a start and immediately regretted it. In the state of hangover he was experiencing, he was surprised and somewhat thankful he could see. Of course that gift of sight led him down a road he was not quite prepared to walk. For on the other side of him, gently snoring was his grandmother Airi. Very nude with an angelic smile on her face. The color drained from his face as he remembered why she was content.

The house came awoke with the sound of his scream but no one came to Tenchi's aid. Against every instinct, each of the spurned females stood their ground and refused to budge from their rooms to go help their Golden Boy. This was their line in the sand and there they stayed.

All except Sasami. In a trance, she proceeded to his room. The previous night, she spied on the commotion until Ryoko had come and taken her to her bed and tucked her in before leaving to go back to her bottle of sake and warm covers.

She began to open Tenchi's door when a voice startled her.

"Sasami?" It was Nobuyuki, standing at the foot of the stairs. He expression looked cheerful but his eyes were deadly serious. "Sasami, come help me make breakfast. I've always wanted to learn how you make such delicious food," he said and beckoned her to come.

"But," she said, touching the door again.

"Sasami…please? For me?" he pleaded.

She distantly nodded before joining him.

###

This couldn't be happening. Tenchi had fucked his grandmother. He also realized something vital: his system was rather delicate – a fact that he didn't care much to advertise – and that Caelthrassian wine he drank was about to kick his system's ass. Grabbing a bathrobe, he managed to tie it on and tap into his powers of speed to get himself to the bathroom in time to worship the Porcelain Goddess. Holding on for dear life, he let it all go. He felt as low as dirt.

The knock at the door couldn't be more ill timed as it reminded Tenchi that he was still very much alive and that the orifice at which he meditated wasn't done with him by a long shot. "Who is it…and what could you possibly want?" Tenchi croaked before going back to business.

"Tenchi…" it was Nobuyuki once more. "Tenchi can I come in?"

"Dad," Tenchi moaned pitifully. "You really don't want to –" was as far as he got before his stomach churned and he went down again.

"Tenchi," Nobuyuki said, as he opened the door and took in the sight of his son – undone like the sweater song. "Dear Kami-sama, you look awful…" he said, baldly stating the obvious.

"Thanks dad, I really needed that."

"I'm sorry son; it's just the plain truth. Have too much sake last night or was it something you ate?"

"Caelthrassian wine," Tenchi said as the men shared a look.

"Tenchi, you know I'm not one to lecture on – what I mean, I don't want to seem like I'm coming down on you…" Nobuyuki said, trying to find a handle for a difficult conversation. "What I'm trying to say…"

"Dad, Airi's in my bedroom."

"I know she is, son. The whole house knows. The natives are restless, one might say," Nobuyuki said, choosing a particularly ironic phrase given that none of the women were natives of Earth.

Tenchi's eyes widened and his stomach churned as he went back to relieving himself of last night's drink. Nobuyuki took pity on his son.

"Well son…" he said, pursing his lips.

"Does Grandpa know?"

"No, as far as I know, he doesn't."

"How did the girls find out?"

"Tenchi, you're a bright kid and that was a stupid question." Off of Tenchi's look, he sighed. "You two weren't exactly quiet last night," Nobuyuki informed Tenchi.

"_Shimatta_," Tenchi swore.

"Indeed."

"What the hell am I going to do?" Tenchi wondered forlornly.

"That I can't answer, kiddo. You're going to have to figure out some of this on your own," he supplied unhelpfully.

"Gee, thanks _Oyaji_," Tenchi said sourly, before reaching up to flush the toilet. "Was there something you wanted?" he asked, rising to his feet.

"Yeah, you better figure out what you want, boy, or you're going to lose everything…" Nobuyuki stated plainly before leaving Tenchi alone.

Tenchi stood there, ashen-faced as he blankly considered the truth of his father's words. He wasn't sure what he wanted but he sure didn't want the entire house clamoring for his head or genitals. Grabbing his toothbrush, he began to brush his teeth. Then he gargled some mouthwash before satisfied that he was ready to have a face to face conversation with someone. He padded back to his room and took a deep breath before he crossed the threshold into his room. It was as he left it, all the way down to Airi in his bed. Only one difference, she was no longer sleeping.

As he crawled into bed, she touched his face. "I don't have my clothes with me," she said, unabashedly.

"You can borrow some of mine, if it all fits," he replied simply.

"You okay?" she asked

"Airi-san?"

"Yeah?"

"We fucked up," Tenchi said in a very small voice.

"Tenchi…"

"I mean, we really made a mistake. How did this happen?"

"Last night should have been the end for me. I was drunk; I was at my all time low. I've been falling down the rabbit's hole for the last few months and last night brought everything to a head," she said.

"Airi-san…"

Off his reaction, she raised her hand for silence. "Let me get through this please. You're a wonderful boy-- well...you're not such a boy now are you? Not anymore at least. You're a man, Tenchi and a wonderful one at that. Should last night have happened? Of course not. Anyone in their right mind would tell you that what happened shouldn't have for any number of reasons. But I'm so happy it did."

"Airi-san…" Tenchi said, as his fingertips brushed against her brow.

Tears streamed down her face as her voice cracked and she began to sob. She touched his face again, her yellow eyes imploring him with need. "Tsunami help me, Tenchi, I'm so glad that it did! Do you know what it's like to be held and to know that everything's okay? I haven't been held like that in years. Do you know what it feels like to have a lover put their hands around you and make sweet love to you? I haven't felt that fulfilled in a long time."

"So you're happy that we did it?" Tenchi asked.

A long pause as Airi considered the moment. She could not say at this juncture whether or not she was happy about the whole thing. Of course, it all seemed so foreign and exciting. But there was an inordinate amount of danger involved and that's what made her hesitate. It was incest. She had fucked her grandson. She was well versed on the customs of the Japanese and those of the Earthlings in general. One of their sacred mores seemed to be 'thou shall not lie with family as one would a lover'.

Was she happy?

"I'll tell you something, Tenchi…I am happy we did it. I just wish we did it sober," she remarked sadly.

"Yeah, me too – wait…what??" Tenchi exclaimed, puzzled. "Airi-san, what are you saying…I'm your grandson, remember?"

"I haven't forgotten, I held you when you were a little boy," she said, cooing as her memory flashed back to that particular point in time.

"Airi-san, you saying things like that doesn't help…"

"Why?" she asked innocently.

"You're reinforcing the fact that not only you are old enough to be my grandmother, but that you are my grandmother!"

"You have feelings for Ayeka, do you not?"

"Well…um…that's a personal—" Tenchi stammered, clearly flustered.

"Answer the question, please," Airi prompted, gently but firmly.

"Well, yes," Tenchi admitted after some time.

"She's your great-aunt, Tenchi. Sasami too. Washu's related to Tsunami through divinity as is Ryoko—"

"Yeah but—"

"Please don't interrupt, Tenchi," she said softly but with a bit of an edge.

"We're all related in one way or the other. I just happen to be related more directly."

"It's not semantics," Tenchi argued. "Degrees do count in this matter!" he exclaimed. "Are you trying to argue that we should…continue this?" he whispered in a hush-hush tone of voice.

"If you want, Tenchi…as of yesterday night I am a single woman and may do as I please."

"The divorce hasn't even been processed, has it?" Tenchi inquired.

"I am divorced of Yosho, have been since I walked out of his room. The papers will come when they will, it concerns me not," she said, nuzzling against his face. "I don't want you to feel pressure to go either way. I'm an adult, Tenchi, if last night was just booze and lust kicking in, then that's fine. These things happen."

"I just can't begin to process entering a relationship with my—"

"Please Tenchi dear, we've said the G word enough for one day, don't you think?" she said, wincing.

"I suppose you're right. I don't intend it to be an insult or anything. It's just the…it's just how it is…" Tenchi said, completely lost for words.

Though, when the light caught her eyes, he was momentarily transfixed with how beautiful she was. She was unlike any other woman he had ever met and their tryst was beyond anything Noike could provide him. A virgin for twenty-five years, Tenchi had found carnal passion with Noike and it was an addictive thing. Now that he had experienced the love of another woman – and he remembered every second of it – he could compare and contrast.

Noike had made him feel things he had never felt before and a part of him would always be grateful to her for that. Yet, now that he had felt these things, he was in a position to evaluate the two lovers his young body had been fortunate enough to experience. Noike was like a kitten, curious and full of explosive energy that just couldn't be contained. Airi was an adult cougar, so full of power and verve yet with the maturity to know when to use it. Noike was sweet but Airi was rich. On different days, Tenchi knew that he might want either of their nighttime company but he had felt more fulfilled – even in a drunken haze – with Airi.

"Last night was incredible, Airi," Tenchi said honestly. "I just never experienced anything like you."

"Noike doesn't come close, huh?" Airi asked with a wicked smile.

"No," Tenchi said honestly, and he meant it. Noike just didn't come close to what he had felt from Airi.

"I'm just that good," Airi said proudly before she got up and went to Tenchi's closet. Tenchi just gaped at having a naked woman walk so freely around in his room. Not that he was disapproving of her right to be nude or walk around in his room but it was more that he was still slowly getting acquainted with the reality of gorgeous women wearing nothing in his presence. Airi pulled on a t-shirt of Tenchi's and frowned at her reflection in the mirror. "I look like a race car girl in this shirt…" she muttered as she turned to Tenchi who had his reddening hand clamped over his nose. "Oh cut that out," she scolded him.

"It's a snug fit," Tenchi allowed very cautiously. He knew enough to know that women could be very touchy on how an outfit looked or fitted. Airi's overripe endowment made the shirt appear as if it was about to burst open – which under the circumstances, it might. Stranger things have happened.

"Tenchi, you can say it: my tits make this shirt look ridiculous. Oh well, it's what you have."

"Didn't you bring clothes with you?"

"Yes, but I forgot my magical teleportation spells so I can't go to them without walking around naked from the waist down…" Tenchi stared at her until she started chuckling at him. "Tenchi sweetie, don't be a fool. I don't know any teleportation spells."

Tenchi's face reddened as he realized she was kidding him. "Oh, right…of course. Ha ha ha," he said, slightly embarrassed as his hand shot to the back of his head, leaving his bloody nose exposed.

"You're leaking, loverboy," Airi snarked as she rummaged through the collection of Tenchi's clean clothes for something that could cover her bottom half – hopefully something more modest. "Gah, you have jeans and pants but my ass is too big," she remarked of her rather voluptuous rear end as she tried to fit into them.

Tenchi simply gave up and laid back down before he died of nasal hemorrhaging. Then, he thought of something. "I might have something you can use," he said as he went into his closet and opened up a box that contained a purple kimono. He held it out for Airi to see and was momentarily surprised to see tears streaming down her face.

"Oh Tenchi, why'd you have to go and show me that?" she asked forlornly as she sank to her knees and began to cry. Covering her face, she flinched as he wrapped his arms around her but surrendered herself to his comfort.

"Airi-san, _gomen nasai,_ I didn't know that you were so torn up about Mom…I thought you were okay with things."

She looked at him and pulled him tight to her, crying all the harder. "Oh Tenchi…" she said, not trusting herself to go any further. It took her minutes that seemed like hours to get a hold of herself. When at last she did, she turned to Tenchi and gave him a brave smile and donned the kimono. Though Airi possessed a larger hourglass figure than her daughter, for some reason it fit perfectly. "Come Tenchi, let's go to breakfast…they'll be waiting for us."

"Us?" Tenchi inquired nervously, as he scrambled to get dressed.

"Yes baby, us. You know, you and me," she said with a smile as she waited patiently for him to get dressed.

Together, they left the room and headed down towards the breakfast room.


	4. Chapter 4

Warning: This is chapter has Lemon Elements to it, or in other words, has scenes of a sexual nature. If this is not your cup of tea, do not read any further. If this suits you just fine, then please read on and enjoy it. My Author's note at the end of the chapter has a full explanation. As always please enjoy and review. Cheers!

**Green Hair, Yellow Eyes**

**By Takeda Kenji**

**Chapter Four**

Yosho "Katsuhito" Masaki was a patient man but there were times that tried the patience of a saint and this was shaping up to be one of those times. As he began his [i]kata[/i] with a [i]bokken[/i], he began to reflect on the obvious: his grandson was fucking his wife. Well actually, Tenchi was bedding his soon-to-be ex-wife but the fact that the divorce papers hadn't even arrived for signing made his blood pressure spike. Yosho considered what he was going to have to do about this disturbing development. It wasn't as if he could let such a thing slide.

His sword, made from the fine wood of Funaho, swung in the air. Yosho fumed. It was not a good thing, to practice with this much stress on his mind but then again, his slashes and cuts had never been deadlier. Given his past, that was saying quite a bit. During the Period of Warring States, Katsuhito Masaki had performed the [i]hitokiri[/i], a man-slayer who always found his mark, it had been a bloody task for a man who should have been free of violence. However, when upheaval of the [i]Sengoku[/i] found its way to his shrine, Katsuhito put his foot down. He had no qualms about taking a life but unlike Tenchi, he was far more aware of the toll it took on a man.

Now he found himself considering committing that very act against his grandson. It was a horrible thing, contemplating murdering one's grandchild, but then again, when one considered the devastating impact of sleeping with one's grandchild… murder didn't seem quite so bad. Training was coming soon. Tenchi still met with him to train at ten o'clock. At half-past nine, Yosho threw his strength into each swing of his sword to burn a minute fraction of his anger away. But it wasn't enough. In thirty minutes he would face his grandson…

Thirty minutes passed like little toy soldiers marching across a tabletop. As Tenchi made his way to the training grounds, he noticed that his grandfather was in his true state of appearance and that he had been exerting himself for some time. "[i]Ji-chan[/i]?" Tenchi asked, perplexed.

"Tenchi," Yosho said coldly. Tenchi's blood froze as he saw the look on his grandfather's face. There was murder in the old priest's eyes.

"[i]Ji-chan[/i], I can come back…"

"You'll do no such thing. Training is essential," Yosho countered swiftly. "Today will be your final lesson. You are twenty-six years of age. You've fought against divinities and demons. There is little more I can teach you. But know this, Tenchi…" Yosho said, as he tossed his [i]bokken[/i] aside and retrieved the Master Key from inside his tunic.

"[i]Nani?[/i] Tenchi said while clutching at his bokken.

"I will be the toughest opponent you ever faced," Yosho said before launching himself towards Tenchi. Within seconds, Yosho proved himself a man of his word. Simply put, there was no way Tenchi could have ever been prepared to fight Yosho as a warrior, having only fought him as student versus teacher.

Tenchi found himself on the defensive at once, calling upon his incredible mastery of speed to preserve his life. Yosho was a force of nature, seemingly moving in all directions at once. The only time Tenchi had ever seen his grandfather fight was against Kagato but even then his grandfather never moved this quickly. There was a stare of hatred that haunted Tenchi even as he ran for dear life. Yosho intercepted every escape no matter how Tenchi tried. "I am the one who taught you what you know. Every move you make, you know I will see through it…" Yosho hissed, unconsciously invoking the words of an old enemy.

"[i]Ji-chan[/i], stop this…stop this now!" Tenchi cried as he shot into the air and executed an aerial summersault over Yosho and took off running for the house.

"Running for your women, coward!" Yosho cried and gave chase. They were almost blurs of motion as they both ran for the house. Tenchi had almost made it to the door when the azure blade of energy cut down his back. The frenzied howl of pain set the inhabitants of the Masaki household on edge as they all clamored to the porch to see what could possibly be the matter. Jaws dropped and eyes pooled with tears as they saw Tenchi writhing on the ground like a madman, his eyes wide with pain. His back was drenched with blood and Yosho stood over him, his Master Key raised high over his head.

"[i]Masaka[/i]…" Ryoko whispered, the only one of the women who could voice their thoughts. Her fist clenched and a blade of orange light sprang to life as she took a step towards her fallen hero.

"I'll kill you where you stand, demon…" Yosho whispered. Ryoko froze in petrified stupefaction. She remembered facing Yosho that day and the look on his face now was the same as it was then: cold, remorseless, furious.

"Leave him be," Ryoko croaked helplessly. "He's unarmed and wounded. You won."

Each woman facing the pitiful heap that was Tenchi was experiencing a particularly severe bout of cognitive dissonance; torn between their hurt and anguish from Tenchi's carnal knowledge of Airi and their horror at the man they all loved wounded before their very eyes. Ryoko's words emboldened them and they knew now, as much as they were hurting – Tenchi was still the hero they were holding out for.

"Mercy, brother…" Ayeka whispered as she walked towards him with her hands up in the air as to gesture that she meant no harm to either combatant. "You've bested him," Ayeka cajoled expertly, "be the bigger man and walk away. You've made your point…" she said soothingly.

Sasami raised her voice to speak but a laser bolt that hurtled itself towards Yosho – aimed right between his eyes – interrupted any further discussion. Yosho swatted it away like a pesky fly. "You women are chickenshit…" came a voice from inside the house. Out strolled Airi and the look on her face was a mix of murder and disgust. "Tenchi goes to train and you think this is what he deserves? With friends like you, who needs enemies?" she barked at them, thoroughly outraged.

"Stay out of this, woman…" Yosho growled.

"No, I don't think I will, darling," Airi drawled, her words laced with venom. She leveled her blaster at him. "Step away from the boy or I'll put a hole in that thick head of yours…"

"You think you've got the horses to take me on with that little pissant of a peashooter you got there?" Yosho queried incredulously of her.

"Bet your Royal ass…" Airi retorted with a bravado as unfounded as it was deadly to the user. She fired three successive shots all which Yosho batted away, but the last shot was clearly the final straw for him as he deflected the shot right back to the sender. Airi was a dead woman walking and she knew it as the blaster bolt came flying back to her. She was a goner for sure.

But a funny thing happened as Tenchi screamed in primal fury and launched himself towards Airi, wrapping his arms around her. A wild cocoon of Light Hawk energy surrounded the two and the shot dissipated harmlessly. Tenchi turned to face his grandfather and the girls could seen his blood-stained back and it made them gasp in empathy for his pain. "[i]Ji-chan[/i], the fight is over, you won…" Tenchi said, bowing his head to his mentor.

Yosho, on the other hand, was not to be dissuaded. "It's over when I say it's over," he cried, launching himself at his grandson who did not flinch this time. Tenchi faced his grandfather squarely deflected the first six strikes that came as one. Yosho was faster, meaner, and more enraged than Tenchi but the second Yosho sent that blaster bolt back in Airi's face was the second this shit just got real and Tenchi got in the game. Moving as one cohesive unit, Tenchi and Yosho pried into each other's psyche; white against blue flared and crackled as each man searched for an opening in the other's defense but there was none was to be found.

Far from the picture of a broadsword that needed to be used as a hulking bastion of strength and might, Tenchi's command of the Light Hawk Wings refined his blade into a straight thin blade of light much like the Master Key. Stabbing at Yosho's heart, Tenchi thrust with all his strength but it was all for naught as Yosho blocked and brought his blade into a lock with Tenchi. Instead of keeping their blades high at eye level, both brought the lock down to waist level and pushed against each other. Grunting, they toiled and strained with all their might but alas, they were locked in a stalemate of strength and will. Yosho's anger had met its match in Tenchi's desire to preserve and protect life.

"[i]Yare yare[/i]," Washu muttered to herself as she watched the proceedings with an arched eyebrow. Like all of the other girls, she surely loved Tenchi but at the same time – having wisdom beyond the years of the other girls did pay off dividends. She could successfully separate her emotions from her logic and this was a time when she needed logical thinking the absolute most. Watching the two men, kin for the love of Kami, duel to the death was a terribly upsetting sight but somehow Washu was faring the best. She knew that Tsunami would most likely come to the aid of whomever lost and that would be that. But this anger in Yosho was most disturbing. She had never seen him like this and it was not a welcome change.

Blue light surrounded Sasami as she became Tsunami as she had done before when Z attacked Tenchi. Her face was twisted in a grimace as she flew to the two combatants. Using strength that would have done Misaki proud, she tore the two apart from each other and sent them flying in opposite directions. Tenchi landed in a heap and shuddered from the force of the throw. Yosho landed nimbly on his feet and charged towards Tenchi, determined to finish his task. What met him was a discharge of heavenly power from Tsunami that sent him flying towards Funaho. Landing against it with a sickening thud, he slumped downward and was very still.

Tenchi looked at awe at the scene before him and went to Tsunami. "Sasami-chan…[i]arigato[/i]…" he whispered to her contritely. "I'm sorry for the trouble…"

"Nothing you wouldn't have done for us, Tenchi-[i]nichan[/i]," Tsunami replied before reverting back to seventeen year old Sasami.

"Now what do we do with him?" Washu pondered aloud, jerking her head towards the fallen Yosho.

"Let him be," Airi snapped. "Damn fool can use this time to think about what he did…"

"He's not dead, is he?" Ayeka asked, tears in her eyes.

"Why Ayeka, I didn't know you cared," Airi said cruelly. Pausing for a moment, Airi hung her head in shame. "Forgive me Ayeka, that was uncalled for."

"Water under the bridge," Ayeka replied kindly enough. "Foolish though he was, he's still my brother and my former fiancée…I do care."

"Go to him then, and tend to him," Airi suggested as she crossed over to Tenchi.

"No," came the reply from Tenchi and it startled all before him. "Leave him there. If he's dead, it was by his own doing. If he's alive, then he'll recover and we'll have time to sort this matter out," he said, with finality in his voice. None questioned him when he used that tone of voice. In the years following the events of Z and the Goddess debacle, Tenchi had slowly but surely come into his own as a respectable authority within the Masaki household.

"But Tenchi-sama," Ayeka protested, walking to his side and resting a gentle hand on his forearm.

"I'm serious, Ayeka-san, he made his bed – time for him to sleep in it," Tenchi said firmly. Ayeka simply nodded her head and retreated back into the house. Sasami looked at Tenchi before shaking her head. "What is it, Sasami-chan?"

"That's not like you, Tenchi. You're always so compassionate towards your fellow man…" she said wistfully, like she was seeing him differently for the first time.

"[i]Gomen nasai[/i], Sasami-chan but he did try to kill me," Tenchi argued reasonably enough.

"Come on, everyone. Let's go inside, we can discuss Yosho indoors," Airi said, ushering the crowd. Yet, none moved. "For the love of Kami," Airi muttered. Off of the sullen stares she was receiving from the girls, "what?"

"Don't look all innocent there, Airi," Ryoko spat, her fear turning into seething. "You damn well know what…"

Airi took a second to approach Ryoko and size her up. "You have something you need to get off that rack of yours?" she whispered threateningly.

Ryoko didn't budge, even though she was a bit shorter than Airi. "Yeah I got something on my mind…this is your fault, you whore!"

Tenchi's eyes widened as he moved in quickly to intercept the slap Airi was sending Ryoko's way. "Hold on just a minute there, Ryoko. This is most definitely not her fault. Grandpa went ballistic but you can't blame that on—"

"Sure she can," Washu replied nonchalantly. "I think she just did. It is her fault and yours, I might add."

"What are you talking about?" Tenchi asked, turning to face Washu.

"Did you think we couldn't hear you two going at it all night?" Ryoko hissed, tears forming in her eyes. "Did you think we were just going to sit back and just let you have your wicked way with Tenchi?"

"Yes," Airi deadpanned without missing a beat, her game face solidly professional. Were Airi to ever take up poker, she would make a serious killing. "You did it for Noike, why am I any different?"

Ryoko's mouth opened and closed as her face turned beet red. "You cunt…" she whispered to Airi, enraged.

"Leave me out of this," Noike snapped, breaking her silence. "What Tenchi and I did—"

"Is none of your business," Tenchi finished for her, visibly annoyed. "Ryoko, I appreciate that you care but you and Washu are way out of line here…"

"Are we?" Washu asked calmly. "I don't feel out of line, do you Ryoko-chan?"

"Not in the slightest," Ryoko replied. "You can huff and puff all you like, Airi but don't pretend that your cavorting with your grandson isn't what set Yosho off. You know damn well that's exactly what it was."

"I do love being told what I do or do not know," Airi retorted. "Yosho and I got divorced last night. I was a free woman last night," she stated simply.

"Are the papers even signed?" Ayeka asked as she returned. Her eyes were puffy and red but her voice was clear.

"That's not the point."

"So you're not only an incestuous whore, you're also an adulterer," Ayeka summed up neatly.

"Ayeka!" Tenchi exclaimed, shocked at Ayeka's words. "That's quite enough."

"No Tenchi, I don't believe it is. I believe it's barely scratching the surface," Ayeka countered smoothly. Unlike Ryoko, she was keeping it together nicely. "Refrain from correcting me, if you please," Ayeka instructed Tenchi. "I'll not take directions from a little pervert who sees no error in lying with family."

Tenchi opened his mouth and shut it promptly. "I'm done here," he said quietly before walking inside and going to his bedroom. He shut the door violently.

Airi looked at the girls with a mixture of scorn and pity. "Keep pushing, ladies. You'll drive him straight away—"

"Into your arms, is that it?" Washu inquired.

Airi didn't answer but rather simply left them to their thoughts.

#####

Tenchi stared over his shoulder into the mirror, bare-chested, wincing at the size of the cut Yosho had left. Left untreated, it was going to leave a hideous scar but Tenchi wasn't worried about the cosmetics of the situation. He was deeply disturbed by the loss of trust from the household. His grandfather was trying to kill him and the girls were a little slow on the uptake as far as getting with the program. As far as Tenchi was concerned, Yosho had crossed a line. He understood his grandfather's anger but murder was no solution and certainly not an attempt that Tenchi took lightly.

There was a knock on the door that shook him out of his reverie. "Who is it?" he asked neutrally.

"It's me," came Airi's voice.

"Come in," Tenchi said, his voice softening a touch. She did and gave a start as she got a good look at his wound.

"Tenchi! You have to get Washu to look at that or we could take a transport to my ship. There's an aid station nearby."

"I'm not going to see Washu," Tenchi said, his voice brooking no argument.

"Okay baby," she said soothingly, "but that cut is going to need medical attention. I'm surprised though, why didn't you heal?"

"Probably because my life isn't in any danger…the Light Hawk Wings are funky like that. They show up when they want to…"

"Funky?" Airi asked, her face scrunched up in a questioning stare that Tenchi found absolutely adorable.

"Don't worry about it, Airi," Tenchi said gently.

"Tenchi," Airi said, blushing as she ran a hand through her hair. "You know what that does to—"

Airi didn't get to finish her sentence, for Tenchi kissed her hard on the mouth, interrupting her words and converting the word 'me' into a full-throated moan. "Dear Kami, Tenchi…" she whimpered against her lips. Tenchi didn't answer her but undressed her. She nodded, blushing all the more. "No sense tearing a perfectly good kimono," she whispered to him. Soon she was naked before him. Tenchi had her going from zero to sixty in a beat of her thundering heart. Her quim was throbbing and sodden and Tenchi had only kissed her. "Tenchi…" she whispered desperately, her eyes pooling with tears of desire. "I'm so—"

"I know…" he said softly as his hands cupped her bosom, finding her as aroused as possibly could be. His lips found her earlobe and suckled it gently. Holding her quavering form, he tenderly continued his ministrations, fingertips traveling down her ribcage, past her smooth tummy until they brushed against the proof of her desire.

Airi's eyes bulged wide open as she turned to capture Tenchi's mouth with her own while orgasm slammed into her like a freight train. "Oh…fuck…Tenchi…" she cried against his lips, her voice thankfully muffled by Tenchi's firm lips. She began to sob as the full-body climax overwhelmed her. Slumping into Tenchi's strong arms, she purred as he carried her to his bed. "Tenchi…why?" she asked of him as he began to disrobe.

"It was awfully nice of you to come to my rescue," Tenchi whispered hoarsely, his voice clouded with arousal and undying affection. He was throbbing as he touched himself, eagerly anticipating joining Airi in lover's union. He went over to his desk and slipped in a CD his friend had given him and turned it to the second track and hit the 'repeat track' option. "I think this song is apropos…" he whispered to her. The American pop song began to play and Tenchi closed his eyes and walked back to her.

[i]We are young

We are strong

We're not looking for where we belong

We're not cool

We are free

And we're running with blood on our knees[/i]

"Tenchi," Airi said as her mouth began to water at the sight of Tenchi's arousal. The boy was hung like a horse, and he had tested Airi's limits last night. But where he was a little too large for her the night before, she was confident that she could handle him now. "Come here, before I burst…"

[i]We could rule the world

On a silver platter

From the wrong to the right light

To an open stream [/i]

Tenchi smirked and walked back to his desk and opened a drawer before reaching inside to pull out a pair of handcuffs and a ballgag. Airi gasped at the items before blushing a scarlet red. "Tenchi…" she said, her eyes lowered coquettishly. "What you gonna do those handcuffs?" she asked, biting her lip.

[i]With a crash and burn

We could make it better

Turn it upside down

Just you and me[/i]

"Chairwoman Airi," Tenchi said with a grin as he approached her and helped her to her feet. "You're under arrest," he said, eying her figure hungrily.

[i]We are the dream

No other way

To be[/i]

"What's the charge?" she asked, playing his little game. She held out her hands in front, expecting him to slap on the cuffs and have his wicked way with her. Her breath hitched as she was spun around. His order for her to put her hands on her head nearly made her cream herself again. Tenchi in charge was a powerful aphrodisiac that she found herself drunk on and craving more like a desperate junkie. "Officer," she said, playing along in a quiet voice, "can't we work something out?" she asked.

[i]We are young

We are strong

We're not looking for where we belong

We're not cool

We are free

And we're running with blood on our knees[/i]

"Count on it," Tenchi whispered huskily. His hands searched her body, ostensibly for 'contraband'. "You're my prisoner," he informed her, whispering hotly in her ear.

[i]I could change the world

I could make it better

Kick it up and down

Take a chance on me[/i]

"What's the charge?" she whimpered, as she pressed her rear against his erection. If he didn't take care of her soon, she was going to come again. A thought briefly struck Airi: this was absolutely serious. They were sober. They were of sound mind and body. And they needed one another. "Tenchi, we're not drunk this time…" she said quietly. A gasp escaped her as Tenchi pulled her hands behind her. The cuffs snapped on neatly and she was restrained. As the handcuffs were Galaxy police issue, Airi knew that there was no escape for her. "I sure as shit hope you have the key to those things," she said in a hushed tone. "Where did you get those anyway?"

[i]When you fake a smile

And you think you're better

Gonna put it down

Rip it at your feet[/i]

"Stole them from Mihoshi," Tenchi said with a snicker. "The charge is indecent exposure and lewd behavior of which you're totally guilty…" he said, with a savage grin. That grin disappeared as she brought up a good point, they were both completely sober and in full possession of their faculties. And they were about to get it on like Donkey Kong. "Airi…" he whispered before he fetched the ballgag.

[i]No bridge to burn

Nowhere to turn

For me [/i]

"No, not yet…" she whispered before sinking to her knees. She began to tend to him tenderly, obediently lapping at him faithfully. "Tenchi…it gives me such great joy," she whispered to him.

[i]We are young

We are strong

We're not looking for where we belong

We're not cool

We are free

And we're running with blood on our knees[/i]

He lifted her as if she was a twig in his arms and took her to the bed, lying her so that she faced his arousl while he faced her quim. They tended to each other eagerly, and where she had expertise, he had enthusiam. "Two can play that game," he panted as he pressed a kiss to her swollen nub before taking it between his teeth and suckling it while he slid two fingers inside her and began to stroke her in a 'come hither' motion. Noike and he may have been a short-lived thing but the woman taught him a lot of little tricks for bedroom play. Sliding his fingers in deeper, he began to search for the treasured bundle of nerves. Finding it deep within her, he began to massage it with his fingertips.

[i]What do they know about us?

Are they thinking of somebody else?

Are they wondering what we might be?

Are they thinking of you or of me?[/i]

Airi whimpered plaintively as her eyes rolled back in her head, but she continued to service her lover. Her hands were balled up in fists behind her and her manicured fingernails dug into her palms to the point of pain. Her neck was developing a cramp but that didn't stop her from working her lips up and down her lover's length. Taking her lips away from him, she took his most sensitive points of anatomy into her mouth. She was rewarded with a licentious gasp from Tenchi and she relished the sound as she suckled him. At this rate, she wasn't going to last much longer and she knew it. "Tenchi," she gasped, having removed her lips from his crown jewels, "I need you to fuck me…" she gasped. "[i]Onegai[/i]…make love to me," she begged in no uncertain terms.

[i]We are young

We are strong

We're not looking for where we belong

We're not cool

We are free

And we're running with blood on our knees[/i]

"[i]Haa,[/i]" Tenchi said, nodding as he got to his feet and helped reposition Airi so that she was bent over the bed. Gently affixing the ballgag between her teeth, he strapped it on extra tight and gave her rear a good hard smack. That got the desired result: a yelp of indignation from Airi and proof that the ballgag was doing its job and muffling the sound that came from Tenchi's bedmate. Lifting her right leg so that it draped along the edge of the bed, Tenchi lined himself up with her sodden entrance and stroked himself against her.

Airi thought she was going to pass out, she didn't know whether she wanted to kiss Tenchi or murder him for teasing her so maliciously. All she knew is that she needed him right now. "Tenchi," she gritted out, painstakingly enunciating the words through the gag.

Tenchi could take a hint and he acted on it, sliding himself into her. He was rewarded with a surprised squeal from Airi. For a mature woman who was a mother and certainly no virgin, Airi was punishingly tight. She was like an iron hand wrapped in velvet that threatened to snap him off as he pumped in and out of her. "Airi, for the love of Kami…" he whispered as she held him in a vise-like grip. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was—"

Airi let out a silky moan as he pushed inside her depths. She had come the second he slipped into her. By the emerald seas of her homeworld, she swore that he felt thicker than a lead pipe and longer than a [i]wakizashi[/i]. The first time they went at it, she had bled for him but this time she was ready and dammit if she wasn't going to exert a little bit of control and have a bit of fun at his expense. She was a well-versed lover in the instructional passages of sex manuals both foreign and domestic. She knew the ins and outs of tantric sex and her Kelgels muscles were honed to perfection. She massaged her lover as he thrust inside of her. Her large bust moved in tandem with his unforgiving strokes. When his fingers found her clitoris and began to stroke it, Airi saw white and her body seized in the most powerful orgasm. As she came down from the Heaven and Rain, she squeezed him so tight inside of her that he leaned down and bit her shoulder to silence his cry as he came inside her womb. Undoing her gag, he captured her mouth with his.

"Tenchi…" she gasped against his lips.

"Airi," Tenchi replied headily, a bit woozy. "Kami-sama, that was incredible…"

"Better this time around, darling?" she asked quietly, her eyes uncertain.

"Much…" Tenchi whispered as he retrieved the key from the nightstand and released Airi of her confining manacles. Airi thought about it and let him go. Tenchi learned forward and pressed his lips to hers. They joined in a soulful kiss as she cupped his face tenderly. "Tenchi…" she whispered, near tears.

"It's okay," he soothed her before crawling into bed with her and pulling her close. Just then, his back spasmed and he recalled the pain that his grandfather inflicted. "Airi, you'd best call for that ship of yours…I'm going to need to have my back looked at."

"Oh my!" she exclaimed. "I had forgotten all about that, forgive me…" she whispered as she turned around to face him.

"It's okay," he replied with a boyish grin. "But the cut from the Tenchi-ken isn't just going to heal itself."

"Won't it?" she pondered aloud. "You are [i]Kami[/i]…"

"True…I'm sure Washu would have a better explanation," he said, before adding: "I'm still not going to see her!"

Airi raised her hands up as if to gesture her acquiescence on the issue. "I'm more than happy to take you to an aid station, Tenchi. Though I must warn you, they may not as equipped to deal with your wounds as Washu would be," she said before raising her voice to cut off a protest from Tenchi. "[i]Daga,[/i] I'm sure they can patch you up. May I use your computer?"

"Of course you can, but what—"

Airi silenced him with a kiss and got up and slipped her daughter's kimono on once more. Typing in a few commands on the laptop, she covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"Just what's so funny, Airi?" Tenchi asked, a bit bemused.

"Tenchi, this contraption belongs in a museum. It is an artifact of a primitive culture."

"[i]Haa[/i]," Tenchi agreed sullenly, neglecting to remind her that an ordinary farmer boy of said primitive culture just fucked her brains out. "What do you need with my laptop?"

"This," she said, as she input a few sequences that caused the laptop's drivers to whir before the entire machine self-destructed.

"Airi-san!" Tenchi cried, dismayed. "What did you do that for?"

"Hmmm," Airi said, frowning as she poked the remains with a manicured fingernail. "That wasn't supposed to happen. But to answer your question, cutie-pie, I was attempting to contact my ship. Apparently the process was a bit much for your machine to handle, causing it to detonate."

Just then, Tenchi's cellphone rang. Going to it with a raised eyebrow, Tenchi picked it up. "[i]Moshi moshi[/i]," he greeted politely enough. "Oro," he said, as his right eyebrow quirked just a bit higher. Looking to his flesh and blood, he handed the phone to Airi. "For you," he said simply.

Airi smiled at him and took the phone. "Airi Masaki," she said in a clipped tone of voice that screamed professional. "[i]Naruhodo[/i]," she said simply before pushing the kill button on the phone and tossing it onto the bed. "Well, it seems your laptop's sacrifice was not in vain, Ten-chan," she said, adding a seductive huskiness to affectionate honorific that made Tenchi shiver.

"[i]Soka[/i], but what I am going to do about my computer?" he said, in a voice that barely managed to keep the whine out of it.

"Tenchi, surely with me around you're not going to miss your pornography that much…" Airi teased mercilessly.

Tenchi's face turned redder than a sunset and his nose leaked a little sanguine essence. "I'll have you know that I had very important…papers on there," he said nasally as he had to keep his fingers clamped on his nose.

"Oh ho," Airi said with a mischevious smirk on her face. "I see. Well I'm going to buy you a Juraian supercomputer that will outdo the latest technology this dustball of a planet has to offer."

"Wow, well that's very nice of you…" Tenchi said, a little speechless at the idea of owning the best hardware in the galaxy, maybe only second to Washu's technology. Tenchi was all for it.

"Don't mention it, it's the least I can do for you after causing your computer to commit [i]hari-kari[/i]," she said with a toothy grin.

"It's called [i]seppuku[/i]," Tenchi corrected before realizing that Airi knew that. "You're impossible," he muttered.

"Bwahahaha," she cackled as she took his hand and pulled him close. "Ship's gonna be here in fifteen minutes and will call back when they arrive. Until then, I say we pass the time in productive manner…" she whispered as she pushed Tenchi back onto the bed.

######

Yosho laid strewn about Funaho, still unconscious. However his subconscious was another matter entirely. Floating about space, touching ephemeral, psychedelic colors with his fingertips proveed to be a mind-blowing experience. Just when his psyche couldn't handle a second longer, a vision appeared to him. For a moment, it blinded him and he thought he couldn't bear a second longer. Just when his mind was about to shatter from the force of the overpowering light, the vision refocused itself and took corporeal form.

"M-m-mother?" he whispered softly.

"Yosho, my darling boy…" Funaho whispered to him as she neared him, nude in her perfect glory. A touch from her alabaster hand relieved Yosho of his earthly trappings and he became naked in front of her. "There's no need to hide anything from me…"

"Are you real…" he whispered to her.

"[i]Haa,[/i]" Funaho whispered to him before taking him into her arms. Her lips brushed against his. "You have desired me from a distance for long enough, my son. Come with me and I'll show you a world you've only dreamed about…a universe you've only gazed upon from the outside."

"What of Earth?" he mumbled sorrowfully.

"What of it? It'll still be here if and when you should choose to return. But think nothing of it for now, my son. You have a more pressing," she said, pushing her bosom into his hands, "concerns at hand."

Her wicked punning was not lost on Yosho who groaned at the feeling of her overflowing bosom in his calloused hands. Her nipples were hard and a quick brush of his hand between her legs revealed a quim sodden and ready for him. "Mother…" he whispered huskily as his lips captured hers.

The expanse of space quickly turned into a Juraian meadow only a few miles from the Palace. As they floated from the skies to the grass that coated the surface of the meadow's expanse, a blanket appeared beneath them and Yosho set his mother down upon the blanket before kissing his way down her neck until he reached her collarbone to which he branded hot, longing kisses. Funaho moaned loudly and freely and begged her son to tend to her before she lost all control. Nodding to her words, he nevertheless continued his painstaking oral examination of her body. Having longed for her in the wickedest of ways for millennia, he wasn't going to rush this, not by a long shot.

#######

All the while, the Tree Funaho sparkled and radiated joy with beams of light emanating from its leaves, much like it had done in the aftermath of Ryoko's release all those years ago…

If one were next to Funaho, they would have heard a woman's voice exulting over the capture of the Tree's beloved. They would have also seen Yosho's body disappear into the tree itself.

########

Funaho, First Queen to Azusa, stirred in her sleep before waking with a gasp. She had been victim to the most peculiar dream. Putting on a robe and kissing her slumbering husband's cheek, she made her way to the veranda. There, she found Misaki sitting in a chair, smoking something peculiar. Misaki smiled when she saw her sister-wife and patted her lap invitingly. Funaho couldn't refuse Misaki and crawled into her lap and the two shared a very hungry kiss. So many years together didn't even come close to dampening the love the two women shared.

"What are you smoking, Misaki?" Funaho asked, as she laid her head on Misaki's shoulder.

"Cannabis, from your homeworld," Misaki said as she took a long toke before holding it for a minute. She expelled it smoothly before holding a hand to her mouth to stifle the inevitable cough.

"That stuff makes you cough?" Funaho pondered aloud, concerned for her sister.

"It does indeed," Misaki said with a smile. "There's an earthling saying: you have to cough to get off," she said with girlish laughter. "Tsunami help me, I am so high," she said before dissolving into a fit of giggles.

Funaho cuddled closer to her sister and kissed her collarbone.

Misaki noticed this and stroked Funaho's hair. "What's wrong, Sister?"

"I had the most peculiar dream…" Funaho whispered into Misaki's hair.

"About Yosho?"

"…[i]Haa[/i]," Funaho whispered after a pregnant pause.

"Oh Funaho, you know that boy has been hankering after you practically the minute he hit puberty," Misaki said, her voice guarded. She had mixed feelings on the matter of Yosho, remembering with a chuckle the boy's own infatuation with her. It seemed that boy had a hardon for his mother and stepmother. "Just something not right with that boy…" she said, relenting momentarily to cast her opinion on the man.

"Damn it," Funaho exclaimed. "I'm worried about him."

"As you should be, that lust he has for you is—"

"May Azusa never find out, it would start a Galatic civil war…" Funaho hissed in a distressed whisper.

"Well I wasn't planning on telling him," Misaki said as she took another toke. "Shit," she said, a few seconds later as she exhaled and coughed. "This is some really good stuff. Have you ever tried this?"

"The soothsayer in my village had me try it once, I coughed until I vomited," Funaho admitted embarrassedly. "My lungs weren't ready for it," she said candidly.

"Here," Misaki said wickedly as she handed it over to Funaho who hesitantly accepted it.

"Tsunami's cunt," Funaho muttered, invoking a profane blasphemy that would have made a sailor blush. "I already felt like I was high after that dream. Like I had smoked beforehand but I didn't."

"All the more reason to puff puff pass, man," Misaki said in a dead-on impersonation of a stoner. Funaho had to giggle at her sister-wife. She always did know how to make Funaho laugh.

Funaho brought it to her lips and inhaled deeply, taking as big of a hit as she possibly could. Holding it in as long as she could, she spluttered and coughed mightily. Misaki merely smiled and held her sister tightly, rubbing her back. A few minutes later, Funaho was floating on cloud nine. "By the three Goddesses," she whispered dreamily.

"I told you this was primo quality weed," Misaki said with a laugh. "Now you're going to think I made this up," Misaki began with a caveat.

"After my dream, I don't think that's possible…"

"Ok, Washu called—" Misaki began.

"Eh, Washu called?" Funaho interrupted, perplexed.

"Yes, and she said that Tenchi-chan and Airi-san were…" Misaki said before she blushed.

"She what?" Funaho said, the buzz gone and her face taking on a dead-serious mien.

Misaki told her. Funaho's scream of surprise carried to the heavens.

######

In the bedroom of Airi's spacecraft, the bed shook as Tenchi sneezed three times.

"Bless you, Ten-chan," Airi replied sleepily.

"Thank you, Ai-chan," Tenchi said as he pulled the blankets tighter and pulled her naked figure closer to him.

Author's Note:

Dear Christ, that was a mouthful and my longest chapter/post/single story ever! Obviously, if you are reading this on the myth archive, you're getting the whole story. Dear FFdotNet readers, because of the censorship restrictions on sexually explicit material, I could not post this chapter in its entirety. If you are reading it on FFdotNet, the lemon part of the chapter of Airi and Tenchi is censored out. If this isn't your cup of tea, then no worries, you don't have to read it. For those who do want to read it, please visit ayekadotnet and register and put your age in your profile, then visit the myth archive. Trust me, the moderator Senkusa who runs the board would love to have your patronage and you'll get the full blown (pun fully intended) story. To all my readers, regardless of where you're reading this chapter, please – as always – read and review.

Cheers!

P.S.

Kata – a training routine

Kami – God

Daga – 'but or however'

Soka – I see

Naruhodo – 'I get it'

Ji-chan – grandpa

Nichan – brother

Moshi moshi – hello

Please let me know if I missed any others.


	5. Chapter 5

The Tenchi household was not at peace. After a week since things had come violently to a head between Yosho and Tenchi, the mood was decidedly evil. Tenchi was doing his best to ignore it but there was only so much could shoulder he could deal with before he threw his hands up to the heavens while standing on the rooftop of his house and proclaimed in a mighty yell of exasperation: 'Fuck My Life!' There was something to be said for quietly bearing the burden of some much negatively impacted estrogen in such a tightly enclosed space but Tenchi was born of a more expressive generation that did not possess the Japanese equivalent of a 'stiff upper lip'.

To be sure, Tenchi had a lot of conflicting emotions within him: anger, guilt, helplessness, and overwhelming confusion. However, at the core of all his worries was the ever-present belief that things would get better; that they just simply had to. At his darkest moment and bleakest absence of said belief – as ephemeral as those moments were – Airi was there for him. Yet, Tenchi could see the other side of this. He could understand why Washu, Ryoko, and Ayeka harbored such strong feelings on the subject. They felt entitlement to Tenchi – the denial of whom was kicking the tension-level to the boiling point.

As he sat on his bed and doodled on a sketchpad, he realized that the source or reason behind their denial of their one true desire, Airi, was so thoroughly out of left field as to drive them apeshit. It was, Tenchi reasoned while trying to look at it from their perspective, insult to injury. There were moments where Tenchi had to wonder himself if this was a dream that he could wake up from at any moment. The whole thing was so illogical, if examined by an uninvolved party, as to border on psychosis…

Yet Tenchi was involved as could possibly be. Airi loved him differently than anyone in the household could possibly love him.

Was it a better love? That made for an interesting question, now that Tenchi was in a free-falling state of introspection. No, he tentatively concluded – an answer so hesitantly reached as to border on an elementary hypothesis. Sticking with this conclusion, as dangerous as it was to his nascent romance with Airi, he began to ponder why that was so. Why exactly was his newfound love not better? Perhaps Airi's love for Tenchi wasn't necessarily better than any of the love professed by any of the other girls so much as it was simply better for Tenchi…being what he needed or being the best fit. Though Tenchi reminded himself that up until now, love had been a one-way street for him: given to him, unsolicited.

However, even as that thought sprung to mind...it seemed disingenuous as well as a disservice to the girls and his collective feeling for them. He loved them all – each and every one of them. His arm could still, in a strictly anthropomorphic reliance on his memory of the event, remember Kagato hoisting him up in the air and Tenchi telling the Chaos Buster that he would have rather died than forsake any one of them. He meant it too, and he'd do it again…and again…and again, as many times as needed. The fact that Kagato was merely taunting the boy with what he could have done and not actually making him a bargain at the time was immaterial; Tenchi held true to his convictions, even if Ryoko's following him into the bathroom did challenge that devotion.

Needless to say, there hadn't been much intrusion on his privacy while answering a call of nature. In fact, neither Ryoko nor many of the girls paid him much mind. In the height of irony, to say nothing of cognitive dissonance, Tenchi was unsure what emotion was the stronger: relief at the newfound peace and quiet that allowed Tenchi time and concentration to focus on his budding while nevertheless consummated romance or a piercing despair at the crippling silence that so uncannily epitomized the seismic shift in his beloved household. The times, they were most assuredly changing.

Oh, some things remained the same. Sasami, the seemingly least affected, still cooked breakfast – without which, some of the household might have genuinely starved. Ayeka was polite as a default behavior. But that was it, as far as Tenchi could see. Ryoko was less visible, the though Tenchi did notice that her time spent watching television with Ayeka was on the marked increase. Tenchi was willing to bet that anything short of his life being threatened would not inspire much in the way of reaction from the cyan-hair beauty. Washu spent most of her days in her laboratory with only an outstretched hand out of the dimensional door for food becoming the primary gesture of communication, hell, appearance with the outside world.

Then, where Tenchi was distressed, Airi was positively unflappable. Somewhere in her police career, or maybe living for so long, Airi had developed a calming perspective about life in general. While she had been very understanding about Tenchi's distress over the household's less than thrilled reaction to the newly minted couple, she refused to let them influence how she felt in her day-to-day. When asked by Tenchi how she maintained such calmness, she merely replied: "Babe, I've got a warehouse of your Earthling lifetimes and experiences to inform me. Plus, I was the other woman before, you know. Had all gone according to plan, Yosho would be married to Ayeka – so this whole concept of thinking outside the box when it comes to love is not new to me." That answer was more than enough for Tenchi, who had been given said answer while being treated for his injuries only a week ago; injuries inflicted by Yosho.

Yosho…

Yosho had been missing for a week and Tenchi had been begun to believe that every day of the Shinto Priest's absence robbed a sliver of Ayeka's mental composure. Of course, while she'd never admit it, she had suffered two profound losses: the loss of Tenchi as a potential suitor and future husband as well as Yosho (her original betrothal)'s disappearance. Without the support of those two pillars of familiarity, Ayeka had less to fall back on. This was not to suggest that Ayeka was a weak woman or that she needed a man on which she could derive strength – neither were true. However, this was undeniably a series of setbacks that struck her quick to the core. The two men she had ever loved – besides her father of course – had left her in ways both literal and metaphorical. This was a knife plunged deep in her heart. Though she tried valiantly to keep up her spirits, there were many a night she spent with her face buried in a pillow, sobbing until spent. She was quite grateful that Sasami spent the night with Ryo-ohki. It would not do for her younger sister to be burdened with an older sister's pain. Sasami, on the cusp of adulthood - at least by the standards of the planet on which they called home, was still too young in Ayeka's eyes for certain truths and it was better that Ayeka could do her sisterly duty and shield Sasami…. even for just a bit longer.

The time was coming, however, that Tenchi was going to need to summon outside help. He had weathered crises of hormones, adolescence, madmen, and goddesses but it was the disarming nature of their current problem that scared Tenchi so badly. So deep were his thoughts on what to do about this current problem that he didn't hear Airi come into his room.

"Earth to Tenchi," Airi called out in her melodic voice before pressing soft lips to his cheek.

"Huh? Oh hi, Airi…" he said. He had been a bit hesitant to engage in pet names or affectionate diminutives. Fortunately he didn't have to when the simple invocation of her name, sans any sort of honorific in his native tongue made her week in the knees; so he stuck with that.

"Hi, huh?" Airi asked good-naturedly as she closed the door and began to change out of her work-clothes. As a vital element to sustain a healthy blood pressure in Tenchi's nose, Airi had brought a week's change of work and casual clothing – though ship was parked underneath the small lake on the property. It was a simple thing to activate the autopilot and have it slowly rise out of the water.

"I'm sorry, my head's in the clouds," Tenchi apologized mildly, bowing his head in deference.

"Not offended, babe. Just curious," she replied with a faint smile. She looked tired. The bags under her eyes were sufficient to carry some of her belongings.

"I think we should go to Jurai…" Tenchi said after a minute to compose his thoughts and decide if this forthcoming proclamation was really the one he wanted to issue.

Airi didn't frown but the smile was definitely gone, replaced by a more thoughtful mien. "Jurai, huh?"

"Yeah," Tenchi said as he leaned back against the wall.

"Any reasons?"

"Well," Tenchi began, considering his words carefully, "I think we're going to need their help," he offered slowly.

"Honey, this household contains a goddess, two princesses, the demon who wreaked havoc on the Juraian people some 700 years ago, and the most powerful being known to civilization. I'm not pooh-poohing your suggestion, what I am curious about is: what exactly do THEY have that this household doesn't?" Airi asked reasonably enough.

"Parents," was Tenchi's answer, simple and concise and devastating in its cohesive ability to answer the question before it and any potentially arising thereof.

That stopped Airi right where she stood. Such a simple answer, yet so germane to the current crisis – that involved all three of Azusa's children. He deserved to know that the heir to the throne – well, heirs plural were each in some grievous form of calamity. With Ayeka heartbroken, Yosho missing and dead for all anyone knew, and Sasami in the last hurrah of puberty, this amounted to a clear and present danger to the Juraian Monarchy, the likes of which hadn't been contemplated in at least seven hundred years – during the planetary siege waged by Ryoko. "Shit, you're absolutely right," Airi breathed, as she shakily sat down at his desk chair. "The longer we keep this to ourselves, the worse it's going to get for us."

Tenchi looked at her, recognizing the panic creeping into her voice. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Airi…"

"Yes and no, Tenchi…the Royal Family—"

"The Royal Family has ever right to be concerned at the well-being of their children. But we're not responsible for the predicament Yosho and Ayeka are in."

"They may see it differently, baby," Airi said, trying to reason with someone with no knowledge of the politics of Jurai.

"They may, but I'm sure they'll come to my way of seeing things," Tenchi commented quietly, with a reservoir of conviction usually not knowable to such youth.

"Tenchi," Airi merely whispered.

"The implication in your words is that the Royal Family may seek a scapegoat for the easing of their troubles. I simply will not permit that to happen…" Tenchi explained, as he sat up and stared at his lover. "We owe it to them to make them aware of this situation. Perhaps, one could argue, we owe them an explanation. But that's as far as it goes…no pound of flesh…no day on the rack…no spectacle of humiliation," Tenchi said firmly.

"Be careful, this man has lived the expanse of human history in the most powerful empire known to sentient beings."

"I try to be careful as a general rule," Tenchi said with a smile. "You'd best get dressed in your best and I'll do the same," Tenchi stated before getting to his feet and picking some clothes to wear.

"We can use my ship's communicator," Airi supplied helpfully.

"Good, because bugging Washu isn't high on my to-do list…" Tenchi remarked somberly.

"Tenchi…" Airi began, as she too began to put on her best dress uniform.

"Yes?" Tenchi inquired back.

"We are going to make things right? Are things ever going to be the same between you and the girls?"

The look on Tenchi's face was one of the most harrowing depictions of loss Airi had seen in her considerable lifespan. It made her heart sink just to see it on a face as young as Tenchi's. "I don't know, Airi, I just don't know…"

An hour later, Tenchi and Airi were on board her personal transport. Bedecked in their best, they had rehearsed the relevant facts. One might at first glance suspect a duplicitous motive for such methods of planning, but from their perspective, breaking such news was going to be hard enough without an inconsistency in stories exacerbating the problems and heightening the situation needlessly. The severe image of the king in his usual ceremonial garb was an imposing sight but Tenchi felt like the wind was knocked out of him when he saw Seto standing behind him, her fan covering her face's expression – per usual. He had not anticipated this. "Good evening, Your Majesty, Highnesses," he said with a short, but by no means, perfunctory bow. All his makoto (sincerity) and respect was encased in the gesture that the Japanese had arguably mastered above all others in their long, grand history.

"Tenchi," Azusa said, his rich baritone having yet to dip into gruffness. "You look well," came the comment, unimaginatively recycled from their last visit.

Tenchi had to stifle a groan and resist the urge to let his face deviate whatsoever from the completely placid look of measured calm that adorned his facial canvas of good looks, "Thank you, Your Majesty, I can most assuredly say the same for you and Your Highnesses," Tenchi said, realizing how woefully ill-prepared he was for dealing with kings and queens.

"My Tenchi, you do look a bit distressed," Seto remarked, cutting to the chase like few else could.

Tenchi simply nodded his head, using the force of this Shadow Shogun's master and genius to his advantage, not even daring to fight against it, instead, employing the principles of martial arts that instructs its followers to use the energy and force of their attacker against that very belligerent. In Tenchi's case, only in superpowers did Tenchi have any sort of one-upmanship of the feared Devil Principle of Jurai, therefore he was his usual charming self – turned up a few hundred degrees. 'Charm, no harm' was the best way to sum up his strategy. "Quite right, Lady Seto," Tenchi agreed obsequiously with her. "I wish this was a happy occasion, sadly, is it not," Tenchi concluded carefully.

Misaki's face remained for the most part, impassive and though Tenchi couldn't see it, Funaho clutched her hand – well out of sight – all the more tightly. Neither of Azusa's wives spoke preferring to keep their focus on her husband and great-grandson.

Azusa didn't frown but anyone who knew him and had politicked besides the man knew the game face that was firmly settled on the ruler's face. "But you're going to bring us up to speed, isn't that right?" he asked speciously; there wasn't much request in his voice as outright demand.

"Indeed," Tenchi said, receiving a boost of morale from the tight off-screen squeeze of his hand by Airi. "You're entitled to nothing less," Tenchi stated with firm conviction, perhaps a wee bit more than he actually felt at the moment. "However I have to say, this isn't completely my story to tell. I feel it only right to turn over this story to Airi," Tenchi before casting a meaningful glance at his lover.

Airi nodded to him before bowing her hand to those gathered on the other side of the videoconference. "Your Majesties, Your Highnesses, and Lady Seto: Good Evening," she began; leaving Tenchi to widen his eyes at the polished grace of Airi the Professional. Then again, she had surrounded by this her whole life. Still, he couldn't help but lovingly envy the way in which she executed diction, word choice, and political maneuvering that was necessary to a successful meeting. "A week and a half ago, I separated from Yosho, pending completing of a full, formal divorce. This is quite difficult for me to talk about but as his parents, I feel that you deserve to know the truth," Airi said, as she let a perfectly timed tear roll down her cheek. She had purposefully avoided wearing any sort of mascara in the event of tears. Using a handkerchief, she clapped elegantly at the byproducts of her dramatically understated lacrimation. "Excuse me, I didn't mean to become so emotional…" she professed.

"Yet, there is much more to this story than meets the eye," Seto commented, her mouth conveniently hidden behind the ubiquitous fan.

Were Airi less accomplished in her many decades spent as an undercover detective were a guise and persona had to be maintained at all costs she would have faltered there and involuntarily ceded defeat to the Devil Princess right there and then. Yet, Airi was a much stronger woman than many who had only superficially knowledge of her could ever begin to imagine. She simply did not falter in the slightest. Rather, she succeeded by picking herself up by the bootstraps. She saw her way to each planned point in a methodical way. "Yes," she said, taking a purifying, deep breath to calm herself. "Yes indeed there is more. But that, Lady Seto, will come later. The most important thing to tell you is that, shortly after our separation, Yosho went missing," she relayed solemnly.

A wave of shock went through Jurai's royal family, Misaki looked simply horrified; Funaho, a touch unbelieving, as if presented with a bad dream that couldn't possibly be real; and most troubling, Azusa no longer held a game face but an impressive frown.

The look that greeted Tenchi's view of the screen was one that sent two thoughts hurtling around his gray matter at speeds compared to the alacrity of light: first, he was glad that the viewscreen's recording mechanism only captured him from about mid-chest up. Seconds, he was glad – speaking from purely pragmatic reason and not machismo – that he did have a good, resilient backbone at work right now. Had he been lesser of a man and he would have promptly shat himself. Azusa was simply that terrifying when imitating the intensity of the maw of Hell itself in his eyes.

"Do you come to us or do we come to you?" Azusa said, breaking the silence with an inquiry bolstered by gravitas Yahweh himself might have envied.

"We were going to come to you," Tenchi stated plainly, though his throat sounded parched.

Azusa stared at Tenchi. "My daughters are—"

"Unhappy but safe for now…" Tenchi said, bearing the unvarnished truth with simplicity that took everyone aback. "They need their parents," he assured them in a language couched specifically for an anxious parent's ear. It also had the added the virtue of being true. The malaise of heartbreak over love and loss was not something that Tenchi was an expert on and as someone who could barely figure out his own life, he didn't feel especially qualified to render aid, counseling, and comfort to a woman whose troubles were partly his fault.

"Indeed," Lady Seto practically purred as she let the fan drop to reveal a thoughtful look painting her lips as he face's indescribable beauty belied the viper within. "I do, however, feel that there is something you two are not sharing with us," Seto hinted ever so dangerously with that fan coming up to cloak all but her eyes with scrutiny.

"We've covered the important details for the moment," Airi said, somehow keeping any emotion that was churning inside her to bubble forth: like the want to plead for mercy and understanding.

"We are not for the fourth estate, my darling child," Seto cautioned in a tone sweeter them sugar that was yet something so capable of violence or sordid tactics should the situation distract such means. There was such a beautiful dichotomy at work of her happy face and her face that showed a woman who'd gut an infant if it would further her goals.

"Indeed," Airi began, "I'd not cast such aspersions on you," she clarified quickly.

"Indeed, of course," Seto said mirthlessly, "there is nothing in our inquiry that should make you feel as if it's voluntary," Seto said, her volume barely above a hot whisper.

Tenchi didn't care very much for where this was headed. Far from cowering in fear of Seto or recoiling in disgust from some of her tactics, which dangled on the precipice of coming across heavy-handed. However while he wasn't as afraid of the people before him as he was a few minutes ago. However, these weren't people with whom he could afford to trifle. Indeed, even if he didn't respect them – and he surely did – it would not be wise to make such a powerful enemy simply on the platform of keeping it real. However, despite what the angels of his better nature said, Tenchi could see that this was a rapidly deteriorating situation. This called for a different solution of some type. The Tenchi of old, who they met all those years ago during that surprise visit, might have stammered and stuttered, through apologies or boneheaded explanations. Now, this wasn't the time. However, causing an intergalactic incident and getting in motion an internecine family struggle that could potentially last for decades or on the other hand, eons wasn't on the table either. So there was only one intelligent thing to do, which Tenchi did when he cleared his throat as if he was parched – which to be fair, he was previously.

"Perhaps something is in order to wet your whistle, Tenchi?" Seto inquired.

"Absolutely," Tenchi replied, inwardly overjoyed that his amateur acting job was passing the muster at the moment. "Just a cup of tea," he said, reaching for the cup, before promptly spilling it all over the console. "Oh no!" he cried, as he grabbed a cloth and began wiping at the console, pressing all sorts of button at the same time.

The look of Airi's face was priceless: managing to convey a look of horror and murderous rage while inwardly she was wondering if it was too early to start picking out wedding rings for him and her. The man was simply brilliant, she gushed to herself.

"I'm terribly sorry!" Tenchi exclaimed as he managed to convey an masterful facsimile of his youthful clumsiness and a theatrical homage to Mihoshi that would have done Washu proud – arguably the most frequent victim of Mihoshi's maladies – as Washu was, an expert on the subject to be sure and aware of the similarities between Tenchi's act and Mihoshi's reality. The videoconference – thanks to Tenchi's bumbling – began to cut in and out. "I'm so sorry! We'll get this fixed," Tenchi cried desperately as he tried to 'salvage' the mess he was making. "Everything will be explained when we get there," he promised before 'accidentally' nudging the kill button with his thumb.

There was absolute silence in the Jurai Conference Room in the Palace. Azusa turned to Seto. "Well?"

"If that boy ever gets interested in politics, we're fucked," the Demon Princess of Jurai proclaimed.

Author's Note: Hiya everyone, it's been a long while since I've posted to this story and there were a lot of personal reasons but it was kinda nice to sit back and let the creative story occur to me rather than trying to force it out. I have a few tricks that I tried to help facilitate the story and it worked out well. One of the things I tried in this case was the absence of a fight (verbal and/or physical) of two equally-equipped combatants. It made solving the conflict at the heart of the matter more interesting. It's not that Tenchi's a weenie, or that my stories had him overplayed but Jibri did give me a note that there is too much fighting in my stories and I decided to take it to heart. We all know that when push comes to shove, Tenchi takes care of business but like my story said, it was interesting for me as a writer not to take it to that point…at least not yet. To work a different part of my brain in writing this chapter was quite interesting.

A few notes:

Fourth Estate: the print media, not an American term but admittedly a western one. Basically Seto's saying that we're not reporters asking a question, so answering it IS mandatory.

Stiff Upper Lip: a term used to refer to the British generation that endured the world wars and the devastating bombings of WWII.

Finally, a note about reviewing. To those who have been reviewing faithfully, I thank you. Please review when you're done reading this. I think the overall lack of feedback from the fourth chapter is a small but nevertheless relevant reason why I wasn't as motivated to keep going. I realize that the fourth one contained stuff that might have been a bit of a turnoff to some…and if so, that's totally valid. But I think that this chapter represents a return to form and hopefully it's something that everyone can have an opinion on. So please, let me know what you think.

Cheers!

TK


	6. Chapter 6

Green Hair, Yellow Eyes

Chapter Six

By Takeda Kenji

The hard part was assuredly not over; Tenchi's stunt had bought them time, nothing more. It had not solved the issue anymore than painkillers were never intended to treat a pain-causing affliction, only to manage the pain said affliction inflicted. Common wisdom would be that they needed to get serious – a rather tall order when one considered that they weren't exactly playing for shits and giggles up until now. Tenchi had avoided disasters on two fronts of a war but he wasn't going to win until the plan changed. He put a finger to his lips to beseech Airi for her silence and motioned for her to leave with him until they were off her transport.

"Tenchi, you killed the call. I'm pretty sure that they couldn't hear us after you did that," Airi said before kissing him hard on the mouth. "That was a brilliant move. You cost me about a week's pay in repairs but that was still fucking brilliant," she enthused profanely.

"You can never be too careful," Tenchi reflected.

"You can, actually," Airi corrected before forgetting the whole matter. "What on earth do we do now?"

"We tell them," Tenchi said.

"Them? Who's – oh…" Airi said, getting it.

"You can thank Mihoshi for my little mishap with the tea. I just thought to myself: 'What Would Mihoshi Do?' and the idea popped right into my head," he said before pausing. "By the way," how is she?" Tenchi asked, as they walked back to the house, holding hands.

"Well as you know, she had been away for three weeks before I arrived on mandatory training exercise. When she heard about what had happened, she put in a request to activate unused vacation time."

"How much did she have?"

"Her family pretty much runs the Galaxy Police…" Airi reminded him, thereby indirectly answering his question.

"Wow."

"Wow indeed," Airi agreed as they reached the steps.

"Wait," he said, motioning with his free hand for her to stop. "I need to have this talk with them and it's not going to be easy and it's best—"

"Say no more," she said, kissing his cheek and parting ways with him. "I'll be on my transport. I got a few devices that sweep bugs like no one's business," she assured him before walking off.

Tenchi sighed and walked into the house. This next part was going to suck like the Whore of Babylon.

"…Now hold on just a second..." Tenchi said for the umpteenth time.

"No, I won't hold on! Who told you to inform my father that we were heading to Jurai?" Ayeka said, swiftly cutting him off.

"She does kinda have a point there, Tenchi. That really wasn't your call to make," Washu said.

"I understand but this is getting ridiculous. This household is falling apart and with Yosho gone - what would you have had me do?" Tenchi inquired plaintively.

"That's –" Ayeka began.

"Ayeka...what would you have had me do? This is so beyond my means, guys. We need help," Tenchi pointed out as reasonably as he could.

"We're in trouble because of you! Why isn't that clearer?" Ryoko exclaimed.

"My choices in dating are just that; mine. Not yours, Ryoko. Not yours, Ayeka. And not even yours, Washu. I've come this far and we've survived as a family this long," Tenchi said, laying down the facts simply.

"Let's get something straight for a second, okay Tenchi? I knew I was a long shot - from the get-go, that was clear to me. So any anger that I, myself, am displaying to you is not because of that," Washu began.

"Then why?" Tenchi asked quietly.

"You passed us over for her?" Washu asked, her eyes wide with indignation.

"Washu..."

"Really, Tenchi? Her, that's fucking low. Your own fucking grandmother, how closer to the bottom of the barrel can you possibly get?" Washu continued, cutting into him.

"I don't think that's a very fair thing to say," Tenchi interjected.

"It's perfectly fair. We would lay down our lives for you. We would walk into fire for you. Follow you a thousand miles and six thousand more if you only uttered but a word. And you shove us aside for that?" Washu said as she got up and began to pace. "No one's rioted. No one's tried to harm you or her while you continually - day in and day out - rub it in our faces, but don't shit on the floor and expect us to clean it up with a smile."

"So let me make sure I understand the argument here from you all—"

"I *never* said 'you all'. I never said I was speaking for the others. We may all be hurt but we're not a hive mind at work, Tenchi. We all have our objections that emanate from deeply personal reason. I'm pissed that you'd rather fuck –" Washu said, clarifying her position as individual.

"Is it that she's related to me or that you think she's not worthy for unrelated reasons?" Tenchi inquired curiously.

"How about both?" Washu put forth plainly.

"Well if you're playing the incest card, all of you are related to me in some form or fashion. The question is degree. And let me say for the record that I grapple with this relationship myself. Until adulthood, I had no idea this woman existed. She bore my mother hundreds of years before I was born and she looks like a 28 year old supermodel - as all of you do. So I get it. I really do. She's related, but then, the Juraians have no problem with incest and the people of my Planet Earth could never have foreseen a relationship like mine and Airi's, so really gang, where's the knife? I haven't proposed marriage and I've been seeing this woman a week. I get that –"

"You get nothing! You parade this relationship in front of us and wonder why we're losing our minds," Ryoko shouted, erupting once again.

Tenchi stared at Ryoko for a long time before finally saying: "You know, I'm glad Noike's been recalled to Galaxy Headquarters, I really am. Cause it allows me to bring her into this without embarrassing her in front of you guys. Where was the outrage when I was sleeping with her?"

"I didn't care for it," Ryoko clarified.

"Yes but you don't care for me not letting you into the bathroom when I'm trying to take a shit. It does not mean I'm in for a week of the cold shoulder from you."

"You're whining about me not being friendly enough when you betrayed me?" Ryoko asked, incredulously.

"How did I betray you?"

"You chose her," Ryoko said as clear as day.

"That right here..." Tenchi said, jumping on that particular statement.

"What?" Ryoko inquired, confused as to where he was going.

"The ego! The arrogance! You and I were not divinely ordained by prophesy to be united through matrimony. None of you were. I get—"

"I think if we've cleared up anything in this conversation is that we don't get each other. Perhaps this is why we're in such a fractured state. In less than 14 days, I've lost my love, my brother, and the man I thought I loved is sleeping with my sister in law - whom I might add was the one who kept me from my original betrothed in the first place. I have not slept more than four hours in the last seven days. Do what you will, Tenchi, I'm going upstairs," Ayeka said, taking her leave. Ryoko followed quickly.

"Tenchi?" Sasami, who had been knitting quietly, asked calmly.

"Yes, Sasami?" Tenchi replied.

"I don't like that you're with Airi, but then I don't hate it like they do," Sasami stated before glancing at her watch. "I need to go make lunch," she said, before heading to the kitchen.

"Well, that went well," Washu said simply.

"I wasn't expecting to win hearts and minds. I knew this was going to be rough," Tenchi said simply.

"What are you planning to do?" Washu asked.

"I told the King about Yosho and Ayeka," Tenchi informed her. "Hence the whole thing about going to Jurai…"

Washu whistled aloud. "Why'd you go and do a thing like that..."

"It's their children. They had a right to know. The longer you sit on a secret like that, the worse it's going to get.

"Tenchi, I have a question for you," Washu began.

"Okay shoot," Tenchi said, agreeably enough.

"Famous last words..." she said with an evil snicker before regaining a serious mien.

"Okay. The time Kagato came over and kidnapped Ryoko," she prompted of him.

"I remember it well. It's been a long time but I can feel the ship blowing up with me inside it. Was not exactly what I call a good time," Tenchi reminisced darkly.

"Exactly."

"Your point being?" Tenchi asked of her.

"Where exactly were Mommy and Daddy? Their children were in danger and this madman was terrorizing a protective colony of their Empire. Were exactly were they?"

"You know? I never thought of it like that. That's a great question, Washu. I don't know," Tenchi said in wonderment.

"Well, I do know. They shat themselves and let us deal with it. They knew about it and the last time Azusa went up against Kagato, it took Tsunami to save him from Death; his wounds were so bad. Something you have a bit of experience with, isn't that right?" Washu asked of him.

"Damn straight," Tenchi asserted.

"So, they knew Kagato was combating ships around Earth. They could have responded to this. Could have found a way here. And they didn't. This is very significant, Tenchi. They were nowhere to be found. Only weeks after the fact did they pop in, unannounced."

"They do kind of rule the place. It's not like they needed our invitation," Tenchi pointed out, somewhat meekly.

"True. And I'm one their three creators. Do they want a cookie?"

"Touché."

"One of the things you're going to learn at some point, Kiddo, is that you and I are playing at a different level."

"So we should look down on everyone else like mice and ants?"

"Did you hear me say that? Jumping left and right to conclusions over there, Tenchi."

"Sorry."

"That's alright, just knock it off. Okeydokey?"

"Gotcha."

"Anyway, my point is to say: if you want to kowtow to the Royal family, knock yourself out."

"Well it's nice that you're leaving me the choice," Tenchi said with a smile.

Washu answered him with a smack upside his head. "No, I mean, literally: knock yourself out. Are you shitting me, Tenchi? Caligula had nothing on these jokers. I told Funaho and I'll tell you, I don't care who does what. It's not my concern. And you want to bring Ayeka and Sasami so they can have some girl time with Misaki and Funaho and cry out their troubles? Good plan. I'd have thought the same thing. I'd have ASKED Sasami and Ayeka what they WANTED but that'd have still been my operating game plan."

"Yeah I got it wrong there," Tenchi conceded.

"Mhm," Washu said, seeing no reason to toss the man a rope.

"Washu..." Tenchi asked quietly.

"Yeah?" she answered, scooting closer to him.

"Are you guys ever going to forgive me?"

Washu didn't answer him for a very long time. Then: "that depends..."

"On?"

"On a lot of variables. This isn't rocket science - but it's a lot messier than the theory of propulsion by a long shot. Your most brilliant scientists are babbling infants to me. I could make Richard Dawkins' head explode with what I know. Yet, we haven't figured out the ways of hearts like we have conquered intergalactic travel. Why? Love is irrational. So do I think we'll all forgive you? Sure, I do. Do I think it's coming any time soon? No I do not," Washu said honestly.

Tenchi looked a bit crestfallen. "Oh..." he said, quietly acquiescing to her words.

"Sorry, but for instance...we're to forgive you, ja?" she said, spicing their conversation with a wee bit of German.

"Indeed," he replied in the affirmative.

"But you're not sorry. In your mind, you didn't do anything wrong and examining this RATIONALLY: perhaps you didn't. But then we're not addressing High Crimes and Misdemeanors. We're dealing with what our heart tells us and not with anything to do with rationality. It gets trickier there."

"Yeah. That makes sense."

"My ex-husband took my child away from him because his family disapproved. I haven't forgiven him yet. That was 20,000 years ago."

"Yeah but I didn't wrong you. I didn't take your child away."

"No. You broke my second child's heart. That's actually worse."

"Jeez Washu, that's such an unfair thing to say. I didn't lead Ryoko on. I didn't sleep with her and then dump her. Ryoko was playing a dangerous game and she lost. It happens every single day and people get over it and the ones who don't die off. It's Darwin at its simplest."

"She's never been in love before, Tenchi. She's not playing on the same field as regular people. She's like a child experiencing the first pangs of love, but in an adult body, with adult hormones and adult experiences relating to war, violence, and loss. But in some ways she's still a little child who doesn't understand how the boy could possibly not love her."

"She seems pretty intelligent about the issue when she's yelling at me."

"Check her gene pool, bub. I'm the momma and you're surprised that she can hold her own in a debate?"

"Yes but being able to hold your own in a debate implies that you have some sort of grasp on the issue at hand."

"You've never heard of: 'from the mouth of babes...'?"

"Yes but that's usually the exception, not the rule. It's the lone voice of a child or simpler intellect in the mindless cacophony of mindless adults passing themselves off as intellectuals when they are anything but."

Washu simply stared at Tenchi. "You've certainly grown up, Tenchi."

"Well thanks Washu, it's about time you guys noticed," he said with a faint smile.

The trip to Jurai was a long one on which Tenchi was glad that Airi pulled a few strings and had a luxury transported chartered for their use. Tenchi preferred to sleep most of the flight so as not to have to speak to anyone. He had a lot to think about after his conversation with Washu and definitely needed peace and quiet to do that. Towards the home stretch of the flight, a knock on the door woke him suddenly. Rubbing his face, he croaked pathetically: "yes?"

"Tenchi?" the call came to him, quiet and demure.

"Ayeka," Tenchi said quietly before pulling on his pants and his robe. "Okay, Ayeka, I'm decent."

"Ayeka came in quietly. "I have awoken you." It wasn't a question, but rather a dry statement.

Not sensing an apology in her words, Tenchi simply nodded and asked: "what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you had a moment to talk," she asked while avoiding eye contact with him.

"Of course I do," Tenchi said as he pulled out a seat on which she could sit. He then proceeded to tidy and make his bed before taking a seat.

"The gesture of modesty did not go unnoticed and she smiled her thanks. "You see, Tenchi, I wanted to thank you for all that you have done for us," she said quietly.

"You're welcome, Ayeka-san," Tenchi replied quietly. "I wish, as well, to thank you for all that you and the girls have done for me. These years I've spent with you all have opened my eyes to worlds beyond mine own and I shall never forget that," he said with all his heart.

"Is this the end of the line?" Ayeka wondered out loud, in a quavering voice while not attempting to disguise tears that rolled down her face.

"I sure hope not, Ayeka," Tenchi replied, his answer a fervent wish. "But I think whatever happens, from here on out, will be as much your choice as mine," Tenchi informed her honestly.

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"I made choices in my life. Choices that the rest of you must react and deal with," Tenchi explained. "My decision wasn't to push you guys out of my life. I found something that may or may not work out for me. You all have a choice regarding that. You can either accept that decision or shun me because of it, the choice is entirely yours," Tenchi laid out very clearly.

"Not a fantastic set of options you have left us with," Ayeka commented bleakly.

"Life is rarely full of fantastic options," Tenchi reminded her gently. "Whether this is an intuitive or counter-intuitive truth: a Royal Princess knows that better than anyone else," Tenchi pointed out softly.

"I thought losing out on Yosho was the hardest thing I ever went through. I was wrong," Ayeka remarked sadly.

"I'm terribly sorry, Ayeka, for all the pain I've caused you," Tenchi whispered quietly. "This won't be an overnight process," he commented.

"What?"

"Coming to terms with this, it will not be an overnight process."

"No you're quite right," Ayeka agreed. "I'm not good with forgiveness."

"It's not an easy thing to come by, but you'll come to grips with it," Tenchi said encouragingly.

"Do you really believe that?" Ayeka pondered.

"I have to believe that?"

"Why?"

"Because I have to believe that our bond, our friendship…all that we went through is stronger than this. That friendship can weather adversity," Tenchi said honestly.

"What does it say about our bond when you chose her instead of us?"

"It says that friendship isn't easy, you have got to want it bad. 'Cause it's going to put up a fight. I chose Airi – yanno, I don't care much about the term "chose". The way you guys make it sound, we're all going to live twenty-fifty years and then that's it. What I have with Airi is too fragile and special to make such cheap assurances of trillion years commitments."

"Tenchi, we're not going to live a trillion years. Don't be silly," Ayeka chided impatiently.

"Being silly is the last thing on my mind," Tenchi said honestly. "I have done things that defy comprehension," he admitted peacefully as he scooted back to grab a pillow and used it to cushion his back while he leaned back against the wall while thought about his life over the last ten years or so. "I think the main thing to keep in mind is that there is going to be a tomorrow and a day after that and one more after that as well," Tenchi pointed out logically.

"Indeed Tenchi," Ayeka said with not a bit of melancholy.

"Ayeka, I may live eons…as might you. They say my world is a few billion years old and we know that there is about perhaps 10,000 years of recorded human history. That seems so miniscule in the face of we're capable of living," Tenchi said.

"So what's your point?"

"My point is that time does heal all wounds," Tenchi pointed out. "My point is that for people like us: it does get better…much better."

"It's odd that the heartbreaker is the one doling out the comfort," Ayeka pointed out.

"Better that I try to care than sit by oblivious to your pain, yes?" Tenchi queried, getting a little agitated.

"Well yeah," Ayeka stammered.

"The problem is: You and Ryoko cannot conceive of a reality in which I'm truly CRUEL to you. You can't because you have nothing in factual terms on which to base your conception of a cruel Tenchi. 'I've disappointed you?' Well, life sucks sometimes. I'm sorry to have to break that to you in that reality, but it is."

"Tenchi," Ayeka cut in helplessly.

"If you guys need a little breathing room, that's fine – I'm totally willing to give that to you. But what you guys need to figure out is what you need from me. I think," Tenchi said before another thought overlapped his current train of thought. "This, this right here is why I brought up this trip to see your parents. They might be able to help you in ways that I cannot," Tenchi reasoned.

"You make it sound so easy," Ayeka said mournfully.

"No. Big mistake," Tenchi corrected. "This is the hardest thing I've done so far in my life but I won't make the assumption that this will be the hardest thing I'll ever have to do," Tenchi said passionately. "You guys have been victims so far so you don't see – and right now I'm not asking you to – how difficult this is for me," Tenchi pointed out.

Ayeka looked more lost than ever. "I simply did not know what to do," Ayeka reflected miserably.

"You're trying to do this all at once. Don't. Let me repeat that: do not do this all at once. There will be time to think; to cry; to reflect; to heal; to move on. But you are trying to do this all at once when *no one* is asking you to do any such thing. So take a deep breath and take it one baby step at a time," he encouraged.

"You think there's really a light at the end of the tunnel?"

"I don't know. What I do know is that you and Ryoko are far overdue for one important discovery…"

"What's that?"

"Haagen-Dazs."

After a long introduction, Tenchi finally felt free enough to walk into the room with Airi. Wearing his dress haori and dress slacks with a button up shirt and a tie, he provided a respectful image of decorum. "Your Majesty. Your Highnesses. Good afternoon," he said, bowing.

King Azusa and his two brides along with Seto nodded their head in his general direction. "Glad you could make it, Tenchi," he intoned majestically.

"You don't ignore a Royal Summon. I've not been inundated with Galactic politics for very long, but I do know that much," Tenchi said humbly.

"Indeed," Azusa agreed.

"Tenchi Darling..." Seto practically purred.

To which, without thinking, Tenchi uttered: "Yes dear?"

Misaki uttered a small gasp before hiding the huge grin that broke out on her face with a sleeve before coughing mightily. Off of Azusa and Seto's deadly combined glare, Misaki meeped: "My apologies, mother. Dearest, I'm quite alright."

Tenchi stood there with a serene smile as he inwardly exulted over the fact that he took the predatory flirtation from Seto and turned them back on her. Seto, for her part, looked nonplussed as she considered exactly what the hell just happened.

"So as I was saying, you had something to tell us," Seto said.

Tenchi looked at her and did not blink. After the conversation with a tearful Ayeka, he did realize something quite fundamental. Those girls in his household had much more sway over him than these Royals ever would. "I did."

"Did?" Seto inquired, as if to correct him.

"Well, I should say: I do," Tenchi corrected himself.

"Well, don't keep us in suspense. Share!"

Tenchi took Airi into his arms and pressed a soft kiss to her lips which she accepted instantly. It was a restrained display of affection but with more meaning than any bystander could possibly understand. The frozen looks of horror on the faces of Azusa, Misaki, Funaho, and most of all, Lady Seto weren't going anywhere any time soon. "Any questions?" he asked, his tone firm.

Azusa leapt to his feet, the look gone and pure outrage adorning his handsome face now. "You dare kiss my son's wife in front of me. Tell me why I shouldn't have your head chopped off in the courtyard like the disgrace you are!"

Tenchi met his gaze evenly. "Because you are a reasonable man. Reasonable men do not make idle threads."

"Do you have any idea who I am?"

Tenchi began to glow as he looked at the ruler and with a voice four octaves below his normal speaking voice - which had become richer and deeper upon his exit of adolescence. A howling wind sounded as the crackle of thunder. "I am very disappointed with you, Azusa, very disappointed. I have nearly destroyed and yet saved the dimensions that comprise the globe of existences that you take for granted. I am more powerful than the Three Goddesses who receive your prayers each night. You believe me to be a common knave who can be subject to the whims of your Executioner's Blade. Recall recent history and choose your words more carefully."

Even Azusa, as powerful as he was, was compelled to sit back down. The moment he did, Tenchi's eyes returned to normal as did everything that had changed so quickly only moments ago.

"Well. I'm glad we could see our way to a reasonable resolution, Your Majesty. Aren't you?" Tenchi asked quietly but with victory in his voice.

"Y-y-yes," whispered Azusa, visibly shaken.

"There's no problem that can't be discussed civilly and with rational means, is there?"

"No, no such problem," Azusa agreed.

Tenchi turned his gaze to Seto. "Is there?"

They locked eyes and only when his glowed again, did she flinch.

"No such problem," Seto said quietly.

"Good. Azusa," Tenchi asked.

"Yes?" Azusa answered quickly.

"Why don't you have some chairs brought out for me and Airi to sit in?" Tenchi asked civilly.

Azusa raised an eyebrow and Tenchi's wish became reality. Tenchi nodded his thanks and he and Airi took a seat. A most uncomfortable silence descended.

"How was your trip, Tenchi?" Funaho asked, trying desperately to guide the conversation to smoother waters.

"Quite well, thank you," Tenchi answered pleasantly.

"Tenchi..." Misaki began.

"Yes, Your Highness?" he replied.

"How did this happen?"

Tenchi lost his smile and he took a moment to consider his answer. "I'm sorry if I got over the top. I made an unpopular decision and while I'll certainly listen to any criticism that you four might have on the subject, I will say this: no one will die over this."

"Do you realize what a scandal it will be when the people find out that my son...the heir to the Throne has been cuckolded by his grandson. Incest, adultery, scandal...it's all there!" Azusa roared furiously.

"Then it'd be a really good idea if no one found out," Tenchi said, crossing his arms and frowning.

"That's quite naive, young man," Seto chided.

"Maybe. Or maybe you're not giving the people enough credit. Airi divorced Yosho before she and I ever had any involvement."

"The divorce papers weren't even printed and now Yosho is missing!"

"I wouldn't be here if this wasn't bad. But as far as that timing goes, I'll let Airi do the talking," he said, handing the verbal baton over to his lover.

"Thank you, Tenchi. Yes, it was not ideal. Divorce is not ideal. My marriage with Yosho was not ideal. Thus, Yosho and I made an adult decision to end it. We certainly didn't need anyone's by-your-leave to do, either."

"That's rather impudent thinking. You didn't just marry Yosho, the man. You married into the Royal family," Seto informed the green-haired woman.

"And I left it, just the same," Airi replied matter-of-factly.

"Is this why my little Ayeka is so upset? Because you broke her heart?" Misaki broke in, looking a second way from unhinging.

Tenchi locked eyes with Misaki. "There are two answers to that question," he answered slowly and deliberately.

"It's a simple question," Misaki countered.

"Indeed. With a simple answer and a more complex one. Which one do you want?" Tenchi asked.

Funaho placed a hand on Misaki's knee and kissed her cheek gently. "Both, please."

"Very well. The simple answer is, 'yes'. I did in fact break her heart. As well as Ryoko's. And Washu's. And Sasami's. And Mihoshi's. And Noike too for all I know. I broke a lot of hearts that day."

Misaki started to cry quietly while Tenchi's composure crumbled for a second and his face scrunched up as a sob hit him, which he fought back. Airi rested a hand on his back.

"Thank you," Tenchi whispered gratefully to Airi.

Azusa's jaw seemed set like granite and his fist was white from clenching. Tenchi knew what the older man was doing and why. He could only respect the king's composure. "What's the more complex answer?" the older man asked quietly.

"My love is mine. It is mine to give to whom my heart dictates. It is not subject to the whim of Thrones or Earth. Unless I accept all the women in a harem - which I have no intention of doing at this point in time - there was no way for me to settle down or 'choose' anyone without breaking everyone else's heart. Six girls, one boy - someone was going to go home heartbroken. The most elementary mathematics dictated this was the conclusion from the start. Now I love each and every one of those girls but as far as pledging my heart and eternal devotion - that's something entirely different. Ryoko and Ayeka learned quick - it's not something that's going to be won by blackmail or force. It's not up for sale or ransom."

"You say you love our little girls," Misaki began.

"I do."

"And you go and do something like this. How can you love them and hurt them like this?"

"First of all, I'm so sorry for their pain. I want –"

"To hell with your sorries! I don't want them. I just want your explanation," Misaki exclaimed.

"Then I say to you: I do not accept your premise. You say the only way to love family is to take their hand in marriage and live happily ever after in romance? That's not the way the world works, Misaki. I'm quite happy that the three of you have found love and happiness as a couple. But there are different ways of loving someone," Tenchi explained slowly but surely.

"Enlighten us," Seto interjected.

"Very well. My people have been discussing it since time immemorial and there are those much wiser than I who could tell you about it in a better way that I can. But there is the love of a husband, love of a family member, and the love of a charitable protector of the downtrodden," he said before pointing to Azusa. "You have agape love for your people. It is charitable and kind and you wish to protect and keep them. It is wide open," he said before gesturing Misaki and Funaho. "For your children, you have storge, affectionate love for your children. You love them because they are what you know and their closeness in DNA and birth from you keeps them as the things most cherished by you," he said before taking Airi's hand in his. "Finally, Airi and I share eros. We are IN love. It goes beyond simple love. I would argue that I have felt all three kinds towards all the women in my household. But I made a decision, an intensely private decision as a person, about who and what to pursue in my life. I'm happy to explain myself to you. I'm happy to account for my actions. But there will be no punishment or worse doled out."

"No one has ever defied the Crown as you have," Seto pointed out ominously.

"Yes they have," Tenchi countered defiantly, almost petulantly.

"You would lecture me on Juraian history? You're not even a century old," Seto said, aghast at Tenchi's behavior.

"Yet, I have the 'instrument' of said defiance living at my house," Tenchi pointed out indignantly. "Or has 700 years been too long to remember Ryoko being manipulated by Kagato to attack your people? You believe my people are so backwards that we're incapable of using a search engine to look your history?"

"No one on your planet has such means. Not even the politicians with whom we are in direct communication on a daily basis," Seto quickly pointed out.

"Yes and no. No one anywhere else but the gang at my place has access to that information. All it took was going into Washu's lab and googling it."

"How dare you—" Seto began.

"Well, in our defense, we WERE pretty baked," Tenchi admitted sheepishly.

Airi turned away violently as she pulled out a handkerchief and used it to conceal the fact that she was moments away from losing all face and decorum in front of the Royal family.

"Baked?" Azusa asked, clueless to the other definition of the word.

Funaho's grip on Misaki's hand began vise-like as she too - along with her sister-wife was trying to conceal the Almighty Bwah that was bubbling within her depths.

Tenchi leaned in and almost as a whispered aside to Azusa. "You've never smoked Cannabis before?"

It was at this time that Misaki, Airi, and Funaho promptly and collectively lost their shit. All was forgotten as three of the most gorgeous and powerful women in the known collection of sentience crumbled to the floor in a collection of guffaws, cackles, deep belly laughter, and tears – to say nothing of abdominal cramping from laughing so goddamned hard. A minute or so went by before any of the three could even remotely regain a semblance of sobriety.

"I do not use psychoactive substances!" Azusa proclaimed while all this went on, his face red.

At this, Tenchi shrugged mildly and with a placid smile: "Well that's completely your decision. "I'm just explaining how it went down..."

Tenchi sat quietly in a dark room. He wanted to be alone with some deep, dark feelings that he wouldn't talk about at polite functions or with those who didn't know him very well. He had played his trump card with Azusa and didn't feel like a very good guy doing it. There was something deeply frightening about how easy it was to switch on that part of his personality: divinity. Tenchi could argue, all well and fine, that such behavior was in the interest of saving lives and preserving life. Were he to show a video of his conduct in that room he was pretty sure that there would be a conspicuous lack of condemnation. That, however, made him feel no better about what had actually transpired.

Until someone came along, at the very least for the sake of argument, to dethrone him, Tenchi was the most powerful being; full stop. The time since his fight with Z had only furthered his master of power and understanding of his deified self. To that end, his experiences were not totally unlike Sasami's – who had to reconcile herself with a deity. Unlike Sasami, Tenchi's deity was not a completely different self. Tsunami was sentient, alive, and fully able to guide her through the process. Alas, Tenchi had no such assistance.

"Harrow," a small voice said unto Tenchi.

"Hello?" Tenchi replied as he looked around for the source of the voice.

Out of nowhere, Tokimi came into being. Her eyes were gentle and inquisitive. "Harrow?" she said once more.

"Tokimi," Tenchi breathed in wonderment. "You know it's hello," he said confused while correcting her gently.

"Yes. I spent time devouring your world wide web," she said happily. "Lolspeak was of particular interest to me."

"Tokimi?"

"Ja?"

"You just studied Earth's internet, yes? No actual devouring or any type of destruction and mayhem was actually wreaked on my planet's primary source of infrastructure?" Tenchi asked, half wondering if now was the time to panic and half amused.

"Oh. No. I just studied," Tokimi said with a long pause.

"I see," Tenchi said before pulling out a smart phone, on which he texted to Washu: 'Please make sure that Tokimi didn't just dick-slap my Earth into oblivion? Thanks, Tenchi.'

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure that the Late Great Planet Earth is just a book title, not the actual state of affairs there," Tenchi said with an ironic smile.

"I just told you I didn't," she said confusedly.

"Just double-checking, yanno, in case you did and didn't even know it," he said ever so diplomatically.

"Oh," she replied simply.

Washu popped in, looking beyond frazzled.

"I DIDN'T do it," were the first words out of Tenchi's mouth.

"No. You just sicced me onto the problem," Washu bit out as she glared at her sister. "I'm going to find you later and we're going to have a little talk. Don't even think this is over," she warned forebodingly before slamming the door shut.

Tokimi looked to Tenchi. Then: "wow Tenchi, way to sell me up the river there…"

"Hey, if you knew how much trouble I'm in with them already," Tenchi said, somewhat defensively. "You'd understand."

"Indeed, Casanova," Tokimi said while sitting next to him.

"Et tu, Tow-kee-may?" Tenchi queried, pronouncing Latin's direct vocative form of Tokimi's assuredly non-Latin name.

"Yes," she said, giving him a gentle shove. "Now fall Tenchi!"

"So what brings you to my little dark corner?"

"Huh? I'm still trying to figure out how that phone of yours works out here. You're a long way from Kansas…Japan, Tenchi."

"Washu's Technology," Tenchi said with a grin. "Earth's technology is a bit dated in her eyes. I don't think my deity self could comprehend the complex mix of voodoo and technology she uses to power her contraptions, much less explain them to anyone," Tenchi reflected honestly.

"I see," Tokimi said, having discovered that she didn't care THAT much in the first place.

"So what can I do for you?" Tenchi asked once more, rephrasing the question in the long-shot chance that she might actually answer the question.

"Oh, well," Tokimi said before rearing back and thwapping Tenchi on the head. "Tenchi no baka!" she exclaimed.

"Ow," Tenchi said, rubbing what would most assuredly be a bump tomorrow. "I guess I deserved that," he admitted.

"No shit Sherlock," she muttered darkly. "You didn't think that you could break the hearts of BOTH of my sisters in one fell swoop and that I'd have absolutely nothing to say, did you?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" Tenchi said.

"Hmm?"

"Yeah, I kinda did?" Tenchi admitted in a moment of pure candor mixed with a smile.

She thwapped him again.

"OH! What was that for?"

"Your vote of no-confidence in me as a sister…"

"Where was your outrage when Washu was losing her husband and child because the in-laws didn't approve? Or when Tsunami was pledging her life to a nine year old?" Tenchi deadpanned.

A long, ugly silence passed between them. Tokimi opened her mouth before shutting it again. This happened a few times more before she finally said: "Tenchi, you keeping mouthing off to the Big Powers like you do, and there's going to be trouble," she remarked crossly.

"If I – the most powerful being of all – cannot stand up to conventional authority, why should anyone else?" Tenchi asked honestly.

"That's awfully arrogant, to assume that you have to be the one to do it," she said.

"No it's absolutely not. I am not saying that it's my job to confront conventional authority – something that coming from me might be a falling in of itself – but if I cannot stand up to authority's injustice, why should anyone else?"

"Well..."

"Tokimi?"

"Yeah?"

"I've been explaining myself to people for over a week now. Do you think you could do me a favor and shut up so that I might have a bit of peace and quiet?"

"You must be tired."

"I am exhausted. I just want to sleep."

"Wish granted."

With a twitch of her eyebrow, he is transported to his bed. The sound of water running came from the bathroom adjacent to the spacious guest bedroom inside the palace. Tenchi kicked off his shoes. The water stopped and a minute later, Airi came in, wrapped in an oversized bath towel. "Hi," she said quietly.

"Hi," he replied quietly.

Airi let the towel drop and crawled into bed. "I missed you."

Tenchi rubbed her back, kneading the muscle. Kissing her behind the ear, he reflected on his day. "I love you," he replied as it was the only thing that was in his shell-shocked skull.

She turned around and kissed him, her eyebrows knitted. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"That obvious?" Tenchi asked.

"It's not what you said, but rather how you said it," Airi whispered quietly against his lips.

"Yeah. I'm still dealing with the whole..."

"Azusa thing."

"That and dealing with Misaki. Dealing with their parents. I knew it was going to be hard. Somehow looking a parent in the eye and telling them how I hurt their child." Tenchi's volume dropped dramatic before his voice broke completely and his body shuddered as he wept piteously. "I didn't know it was going to be that hard. I didn't know it was going to feel that bad."

Airi gathered him into her arms and held him with a strength reminiscent of Misaki's - but far more restrained. "There's nothing about this that is easy. And I'd be lying to you if I said that I know that what I just said will change..."

"I don't know how I kept it together today."

"Tenchi, you're the sweetest man I know. You have a heart three sizes too big. Deep down, you want to be everyone's friend. You didn't want to hurt these girls, I know you didn't. You made a choice that was painful for them and because of all the love in your heart; it was and will be painful for you," Airi told him plainly.

"You think that's ever going to get better?" Tenchi asked.

"I think so. I sure hope so. But as far as me giving you definitive answers: I won't. Sorry. I won't. I don't know if it'll get better for you. Just like I don't know if it'll get better for them; just like I don't know if they'll ever forgive you; just like I don't know if you and I will work out.

"You and me?"

"I haven't given up on you, Darling. But I rebounded straight from Yosho to you. I'm not quitting but I'm recognizing that we're not the ideal relationship - by any definition of the term. I think we need to be realistic about that," Airi said slowly.

Tenchi nodded purposefully. "Yeah. I do too."

"I think we should go hop in the bathtub. It could fit a small room of people. And then something to take the edge off and we'll call it a night. Okay? Does that sound good?"

"But you're all clean."

Airi's smile turned predatory. "Then I guess it's time for me to get dirty," she said, she reached below the sheets and suckled on his lower lips as she tended to him.

Author's note:

There it is. Chapter Six. Hope you liked it and I sure do hope more people review. I made an effort to have less time in between updates.

Cheers!

TK.


End file.
